


Sweet and Bitter Autumn

by devils_soulmate



Category: K-pop, Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Happy Ending, M/M, Organized Crime, Slow Burn, minsung - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:35:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 28,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26027320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devils_soulmate/pseuds/devils_soulmate
Summary: Jisung wondered what he had done in his past life to be kidnapped for doing absolutely nothing. All he could remember was striving his absolute best to become a good nurse, a loveable volunteer, and a likable friend.Then he saw him. Lee Minho, the man who almost ruined his life four years ago.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 13
Kudos: 66





	1. PROLOGUE

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> I'm a really new fanfic writer and this is probably the first time I have written a proper story since 6 years ago. I'll be really grateful if you can check this story out that I have written half-way through my semester.
> 
> I am a major in Sociology so my storyline is heavily inspired by my classes (And actually dramas and novels). I'm not sure how badly I have written this story because, well, I wrote it, but I sincerely hope all of you can enjoy this.
> 
> Please comment if you want to! I'll appreciate it!
> 
> Welcome onboard  
> to my Mafia!Stray Kids AU.
> 
> Love,  
> Devil's Soulmate (｀∀´)Ψ

Jisung almost laughed at the absurdity if not for the state he found himself in - tied up, bound to a metallic chair that sits right smack in the middle of a huge empty warehouse, his left cheek bleeding with a surface scratch which he is sure that will definitely sting when he cleans it later. 

The warehouse was eerily cold, with only a few pieces of chairs and tables strewn around. Jisung noticed a set of mismatched sofa and a coffee table that was located somewhere diagonally to his right and he couldn't help but frown at how worn out the cushions are. He didn’t want to turn behind him and see what’s there, or rather, _who’s there_ , but he could hear a few cling clangs and he figured that there are probably more fixtures and appliances over there but he decided that it’s probably not worth having his head chopped off or something.

_It's already goddamn autumn,_ Jisung frowned, body shivering slightly as a gust of cold wind swept across the room. The lack of furniture, heaters and his own clothing that they had made him left behind is definitely not helping with his body getting used to the late evening of autumn. It would be worse at night, he figured. He then gaped openly at some of the thugs who walked past him, only wearing a wife-beater singlet and wrinkled cargo pants.

The pain on his wrist was slowly starting to burn, causing him to bite his bottom lips, eyes squeezing shut as he tries to wince in silence, not wanting to alert the scary-looking guards or thugs, or even _murderers._

_WHAT_ have I done wrong, he thought, to end up in like _THIS_.

Not really sure what was hurting him more at that point of time, whether it was the rope that was around his wrist so tight that they were eating into his skin, or the pounding headache that had been going on for a while, or the stinging cut on his cheek that he was so sure it bled or is still bleeding.  
  


He decided that those pain did not matter anymore, judging how those hooligans basically manhandled his body like a worthless doll. Jisung tried to send those men a death glare, behind their back of course. Jisung still hopes to stay alive.

He recalled how they had shoved him against the wall, almost knocking the wind out of his chest before a huge calloused palm had his face harshly pressed against the bricked wall, his arms violently pinned behind his back as he made futile attempts to struggle free from the burly men who were tying his wrists up with a thick rope. Before Jisung noticed, he had cut his cheeks from the jagged bricks by squirming so much under their savagery.

"No! It's not him! Put him down!" He recalled how Mrs. Jung, the director of the orphanage, had screamed as they dragged his fighting body to their truck and hurled him into the back of their truck trunk like a sack of over-packed potatoes. Jisung even started to question his own weight as he lied on his back inside the trunk. Yes, sure, he’s skinny, he knows that. But for God’s sake, he’s a grown man. He should at least weigh _something_. But that doesn't seem like the case according to those men who have apprehended him. 

Mrs. Jung and some other nurses even ran up to fight those thugs for Jisung, only to be met with another higher-ranked guard, Jisung had assumed, pushing them back into the building trying to calm them down. He had hoped that Mrs. Jung was more persistent about Jisung’s innocence, but he doubted that their protests would have worked, judging how insistent these men seem to act when it comes to abducting him.

He's just so damn sure he had done some shit in his life to rack up karma so powerful, and he even starts blaming his past life.

“Damn _YOU_ , Han Jisung of my previous life”, Jisung muttered under his breath, eyes clenching shut as if it could also shut the screaming panicky voices in his brain up.

He vividly remembered over-buying storybooks and snacks for the children in the morning and almost choked on his own spit for how much the total had rung up. He remembered how Seungmin had nagged him like a mom when he texted them that he was not going to bring his phone with him when he visits the orphanage while Jeongin was MIA in their group chat because he was on shift at work. He remembered catching and changing 3 buses, as usual, to Victory Orphanage, where it is located at a town in Suwon, a city near the outskirts of Seoul, and even fell asleep for a while during one of his bus rides. So, _HOW_ the hell did he end up in such a dire situation. Were there any mistakes he made in his past that he was not aware of?

A chorus of footsteps then flooded into the warehouse, heels of their boots clicked loudly against the cemented floor. The other guards in the warehouse scurried to the back of the warehouse.

The knot in the pit of Han’s stomach was basically screaming for his attention as he immediately lowered his head in fear, not wanting any eye-contact with whoever just walked through that door. Jisung had heard Jeongin’s mumbling voice at the back of his voice saying “this is the pre-climax of the movie”, like every time they watch a movie together, and he immediately thought about how Seungmin would try to murder his already dead body for not bringing his phone with him. Heck, he could already hear his own mockery of how even his death anniversary will be set in autumn. _Fate huh_ , he thought bitterly.

“Boss, he’s the only suspicious person we found during the time of the raid,” A man’s voice rang behind him, "the rest of the people present are those that we already know of." Jisung cringed in discomfort. Suspicious? Never in 21 years of Jisung’s life would he ever imagine someone to describe him as suspicious, but it’s not like he has any courage to ask or speak up, so he just tries to hide his face further, praying the cemented floor would somehow swallow him alive.

_Two. Four. Six. Eight. Ten feet,_ he counted, hyper-aware that he’s now the center of attention and he hated it.

As the man behind kept on talking about their raid on the orphanage, Jisung timidly lifted his head to glance at the five men who stood before him. _Big mistake._

Because the moment Jisung lifted his head, the first person he saw, turned out to be the person he was so desperate to avoid, to forget and erase.

_Lee Minho._


	2. MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS

_As the man behind kept on talking about their raid on the orphanage, Jisung timidly lifted his head to glance at the five men who stood before him. Big mistake._

_Because the moment Jisung lifted his head, the first person he saw, turned out to be the person he was so desperate to avoid, to forget and erase._

_Lee Minho._

What the HELL is Lee Minho doing here?! Why is he even here?! Jisung wanted to scream. He wanted to just run away, with the chair still attached to him or whatever, but he really needed to leave.

Minho’s eyes, hidden slightly behind his bright orange hair, widened with recognition when he met Jisung’s, and the knot in Jisung’s stomach tightened even more. He swallowed nervously as he glanced expectantly at the older, wishing that he would speak up for him or just untie and let him go.

But Minho's eyes flickered back to his original cold, unreadable and penetrating gazes, and Jisung felt like the world, screw that, the universe was against that he almost vomited right there and then.

If Jisung wasn’t as afraid as he was feeling at that moment, or if he was back at where he was four years ago, or hell, if he was not tied up and bound to the chair, he would’ve screamed or uppercut Minho’s pretty jawline. But instead, he chose to just sit there, or rather, tied down, and muster the best scowl he could have at that moment, eyes still not leaving Minho’s indecipherable, cold eyes.

Still, Jisung couldn’t overlook the small white squared band-aid that settled on top of Minho’s cheekbone, the end of his cut slightly peeking out. A part of Jisung wanted to clean and re-bandage the wound and caress- 

A man then, presumably the leader of the five, sauntered forward from the back of the gang and pulled a stray chair that was lying around and set it loudly in front of him, Jisung jumped out of fear and shock as he snapped his attention to the man in front of him, shoving all previous thoughts about Minho out of his brain. Jisung wanted to slap himself for all those thoughts.

  
  
Jisung had wondered briefly if this dude was the one who wanted to kidnap him. Or if Minho just wanted to maximize his asshole-ness out and have him suffer more than he had and deserved. As much as Jisung hates to think about it, he settles for the first choice as it just seems more plausible.

The man had his jet black hair down, a red jarring scar that slides diagonally across the bridge of his nose, a silver ring on the left side of his lips, and a bruise on the right. He wore a black leather jacket on top of a black tee, paired with a pair of ripped jeans and a pair of lace-up boots. It’s definitely the type of fashion Jisung would take note and wear it himself if not for his pathetic self-esteem and the lack of opportunity and occasion to actually shop and dress like that due to his ungodly working shifts and hours. The raven-haired man had this dark, intense, and deep gaze intimidated Jisung so much he visibly swallowed down a lump of fear.

And what seems to be the worst thing that Jisung could imagine? Is that even if those eyes scare Jisung so much he could shit himself, he cannot seem to look away or pull himself away from them. It is as if he found himself paralyzed from fear.

“Name?” The man asked with an eyebrow raised. His voice is deep, Jisung noticed, and his eyes still hold the same amount of intensity that still makes Jisung shake in fear.

“Jisung,” Jisung answered honestly, inwardly cringing when he heard the tremor in his voice, “Han Jisung.”

“Run a background check on him,” The man said, eyes still not leaving Jisung. 

One of the five men - a silver-haired man stride confidently behind Jisung, making him sit up slightly straighter subconsciously. If he had met that dude under a different circumstance, he would have reminded Jisung of a kitten. 

He immediately regretted the sudden movement because he could feel the rest of four turning their attention back to him, reading and studying him. He redirected his gaze to his leg awkwardly, disliking the attention. Especially when there’s Minho. _Especially Minho’s_ , Jisung corrected.

“Hyung, his records are out,” the man spoke. From the corner of his eyes, he caught the leader nodding to the silver-haired man, prodding him to continue. Jisung turned his body as far back as possible to look at him, half surprised at his extremely deep voice that doesn’t seem to go too well with his extremely cute face. 

Other than the silver-haired man, whose gaze is trained on the iPad in his hands, Jisung instantaneously saw the lines of men lining up behind him. All of them look so strong and frightening, their chest and arm muscles bulging under their clothes, some of them even had baseball bats and Jisung swore he saw someone with a gun under the waistband of their pants. He gulped again, forcing himself to focus his attention back to the silver-haired man.

“Han Jisung. 23 years old. A nurse from Seoul Special Hospital, Pediatric department. A frequent volunteer at Victory Orphanage,” The silver-haired man read, once again catching Jisung off guard with how deep his voice sounds, “his records seem clean. I don’t think he’s with them.”

The leader-like man coughed slightly, causing Jisung immediately snapped his head back to him, and eyed him expectantly.

“So you have nothing to do with the corruption that’s going on right now?” He asked a rhetorical question that made Jisung gaped in more confusion.

“Corruption? What corrup-”

Before Jisung could even finish asking his question, the man had cut him off by jerking his chin towards Jisung, motioning his underlings to untie him, and he immediately knew to shut his mouth. 

If we’re talking about 4 years ago, he’s going to be that one person we all know who would get to the bottom of his curiosity, but ever since whatever happened that autumn, Han Jisung is a changed man. He decided that he will be okay with having no answer.

Two men from the back marched towards Jisung and untied him, further hurting him the process as they roughly pulled his arms back at impossible angles and Jisung grimaced when his arms were finally free, all his joints, muscles and skin sore from the tie-up.

The same two men grabbed Jisung by his shoulders, forcing him to stand up on his numbed feet, and walked him towards the exit of the warehouse. Jisung sighed. He’s finally going to walk out of this place as a free man.

As he stepped out of the warehouse, he jerked backward when someone pulled him by the arm suddenly, Jisung’s eyes widened and yelped in surprise.

He stumbled clumsily and ended up crashing into someone’s embrace, his face burying into a very familiar chest. He then looked up to a certain orange-haired man, who had an unreadable gaze set on him, one hand now grabbing onto his wrist, another arm steadying him by his waist.

The knot in his stomach somehow rose to the bottom of his gullet, allowing him to ignore all the pain. He struggled to swallow the lump in his throat.

“Jisung, we need to talk,” Minho said, his eyes softening as he spoke with a soft voice that came out more like a whisper, heavily laced with regret and hesitation.

A part of him felt euphoria, hearing his name from Minho’s voice, being in Minho’s embrace again, being in such close proximity with Minho again, being able to touch Minho again; but at the same time, the feelings of his guts being brutally stabbed over and over again as suppressed memories flooded his brain, drowning the feelings of momentary euphoria. 

Jisung felt himself forgetting to breathe as his eyes flashed with anxiety, heat rising from his chest to his neck. On the spur of the moment, he struggled to break free from Minho’s grasp, causing Minho to step a few steps back in surprise. Jisung then pushed himself to stand up straight. The latter then raised his brows in confusion and astonishment, but his hand stubbornly grabbed onto Jisung’s wrist.

And the younger one did what he thought was the best decision he could make right there. He yanked his hand out of Minho’s grasp, more hostile than he intended to, the pain on his wrists doubled, but he didn’t care. And then he ran. 

He sprinted, he sprinted so fast as if the world was crumbling beneath his foot, and to be very honest, that wasn’t too far off from what it seems like according to Jisung’s imagination. 

He ran past tons and tons of factory- and warehouse-like buildings, forcing his legs to bring him towards where he assumed was the bustling side of the town. 

He then halted to a stop, stepping into the bright blinking streets filled with closing shops and people walking to and fro hastily. He had finally reached the main street of god-knows-where. 

In the midst of panting and gasping for air, Jisung felt as if his pounding heart was going to leap out of his chest. He tried to hail a taxi, ignoring the questioning and judging gazes of the passersby who watched him run sprinting like a madman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, 
> 
> I'm still very inexperienced with the whole thing, so I've decided to post the chapters every alternate day.
> 
> I'm already done with the story, I'm just doing some grammar checks (Yes, I won't bail out again, like what I did 6 years ago).
> 
> If you have any idea on how I can improve the experience, please tell me how and what I can work on! Will appreciate a lot if all of you can leave me a comment :3
> 
> Love,  
> Devil's Soulmate  
> (｀∀´)Ψ


	3. MEMORIES UNCALLED FOR

After getting off the taxi, Jisung had to drag his drained, tired and sore body across the dormitory ground and his knees almost gave in twice on his way up to his room. The adrenaline wore off the moment he boarded the taxi and he even subconsciously wondered if he hit a new record in sprinting.

Once he reached his small nurse dormitory he immediately collapsed in his miny sofa that sat in one corner of his room. Seungmin had grimaced in disgust and called it the “dirty bed” because it’s what Jisung would lie on instead of his clean bed before going to bathe. He’s just content that he won’t be working for the next 3 days before his shift starts again.

His whole body slumped achingly into the cushion of the small sofa but his brain seemed to still be running on 400 horsepower. Flashes of the entire event that happened today kept on replaying and replaying; snippets of his memories are slowly coming together like puzzle pieces; Minho’s “Jisung, we need to talk” is looping at the back of his brain like an unclosed windows tab. The annoying warmth is slowly creeping up from his chest again and it’s definitely driving Jisung crazy. 

Jisung almost rolled to the ground when he struggled to push himself up, especially with how much pain his entire body seemed to be in. He ruffled his hair out of frustration as he grabbed the bottle of half-drank Sprite out of his mini fridge. Jeongin had left it and forgotten about it the last time he went to Jisung’s dorm and it had been sitting in the fridge for a while. But that is the least of Han’s concern because he’s in serious need of something cold and intense to cool his burning body.

Jisung slammed the empty Sprite bottle down onto the kitchen counter after downing the entire content in one swig. Panting slightly for air, Han frowned at the bittersweet taste that lingered on the back of his tongue. A painful smile formed on his lips. Bittersweet. Just like Lee Minho. 

* * *

**5 YEARS AGO**

It’s September and Intern Han Jisung almost overslept for work on his second day of shift for that week. If it’s not for Jeongin barging into their shared room and dragging him out of the upper bunk bed, he would be in huge trouble. But still, as much as the full-time nurses and doctors are strict on them, they probably love them more than they would admit. “Youngbloods,” was what one of the older nurses, Madam Lee, called them. The children in the wards also like to call “Handsome oppa” which would involuntarily make Jeongin grin shyly back at them. Seungmin is just busy completing his residency in the same department.

“40...39..38...Oh! You’re here!” Dr. Song teased as he watched Jisung sped into the ward to clock in for work, a few nurses giggled at his clumsiness.

“I’m really sorry!” Jisung bowed with a shade of pink on his cheek, after checking in his attendance. The rest of the employees only laughed at his cuteness before Dr. Song prompted Han to follow him on his hourly rounds, which he happily complied with.

“Hyung,” Jeongin started, his cheeks crinkled with embarrassment, Jisung tore his eyes momentarily from his plate of lunch with his cheeks stuffed with food to look curiously at the younger, “I’m working on the 14th. Are you?”

During lunchtime, and as usual, Jisung would be eating with Jeongin first before Seungmin comes in slightly later. Usually being held back by his doctor duties or his seniors who have more work for him. Jisung frowned slightly as he chewed, an eyebrow raised.

“Uh, I don’t think so? Why do you ask?”

Jeongin eyed him strangely before turning his attention to something behind Jisung. Jeongin bounced excitedly in his seats as he waved.

“Seungmin hyung! Over here!”

Seungmin marched up to them and placed his plate of food down beside Jisung. Jisung grinned at him while chewing his food, causing Seungmin to scowl.

“Jesus, close your mouth when you’re eating,” Seungmin complained, causing Jisung to doubled with laughter. His eyes wrinkled with cheekiness. Jeongin cleared his throat.

“Seungmin-hyung, are you working on the 14th?”

“Wait,” Seungmin paused, staring owl-ish back at Jeongin, before snapping his face towards Jisung who was still stuffing his cheeks like a hamster.

“What?” Jisung asked voice muffled with food still in his mouth. Seungmin slammed his fist onto the table all of a sudden, causing the other two to jump slightly from surprise.

“Jisung,” Seungmin called, and Jisung visibly frowned. Seriously, what’s up with his friends today. “I’m working on the 14th. The 14th is your birthday.”

Oh.

Han wrinkled his nose and shrug, scraping the last bit of rice off his plate.

“That’s fine. I can finally take some time off and rest I guess?”

“Sorry Jisung-hyung,” Jeongin rubbed the nape of his neck sheepishly, “We’ll make up to you after that.”

“Yea,” Seungmin chimed in, “We’ll make it up to you with presents.”

Jisung waved his hand with a playful chuckle in an attempt to dismiss their worries. It’s always like this between the three of them - more willing to give and celebrate each others’ birthday than to expect and wish for something in return, which was why Jisung wasn’t as bothered as his other two friends. Maybe a little, but definitely not to the point he’s upset or bitter about it.

14th September came, and it landed on a Wednesday. Jisung woke up on a late morning, tossing and turning on his top bunk trying to fall asleep for the second time before his eyes caught something blue and pink beside his pillow. Curiously, Jisung reached out to hold it between his palms. A paper was taped to the front of the wrapper and Jisung carefully removed it.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JISUNG-HYUNG! - from Innie” and “Happy Birthday~ Have a great 20th birthday~ - from Seungminie” it read. Jisung chuckled softly before tearing the wrapper off the present. They had bought him an Apple Watch and he frowned slightly and wondered why they had spent so much money on his birthday considering how they’re all nurses and doctors in training. He smiled with gratitude as he sent a super long text of appreciation that resembled a speech from some end-of-year award show to his two best friends. He then rolled off the top bunk bed, almost breaking his elbow in the process when he tried to protect the box of headphones clutched between his right arm and his chest.

Jisung already had an idea of what he wanted to do on his birthday. He’s not someone big on parties or huge celebrations but he wanted to at least make this day a meaningful one.

Throwing on an oversized white hoodie and jeans, he skipped his way to a nearby bakery and asked for a huge cake that can feed at least 30 people, but they only had one that comes in Barbie design and the pâtissier even awkwardly ask Jisung if he wanted to come back another day for a better design. Jisung had assured them that design doesn't really matter as long as the quantity and quality are good.

After three hours of bus rides, Jisung stood at the bus stop trying to stretch with his back and his arms sore. Part of it is because he had to protect his huge cake from the bumpy bus ride, and another reason is that he kept falling asleep and now his spine is all messed up. He also noticed how the leaves from the three have all turned orange and he marveled at their beauty before hiking up towards somewhere more deserted.

“Good afternoon little brats and rascals,” Jisung greeted loudly as he pushed the gate open, voice filled with cheekiness and adoration. When the children heard his voice, they ran out excitedly of the huge chapel-like structure towards him.

A few screams and shouts of “Jisung-hyung” and “Jisungie-oppa” flooded the entrance of the orphanage and Jisung immediately squatted down and placed the cake down onto the concrete pavement before opening both of his arms wide open, ready for the kids to swarm into his embrace. His eyes crinkled with delight as he watched Mrs. Jung and a few caretakers and nurses followed the kids out to welcome him.

“I bought cake~” Jisung sang cutely, holding the box of huge cake up in the air, causing the kids to scream in glee while some of the older boys pretended to cringe at his attempt at the cuteness.

One of the older girls, Miso, took the cake from him and ran back into the premises, the swarm of children then turned their attention to the cake as they all jogged and ran up to catch up to Miso. Jisung shook his head and chuckled with amusement before walking up to the entrance.

“Happy birthday, Jisung-ah,” Mrs. Jung said as she pats his arm, “thanks for buying these kids cake even though it’s your birthday.”

Jisung just giggled cutely and hugged her. She reminded him of his own mother sometimes.

Before he could step through the front door, he noticed a brown-haired man slightly taller than himself, was leaning against one of the cafeteria tables watching him and Jisung stopped in his tracks. He took a double-take on that man, hoping that it’s natural enough, to make sure he was watching him before awkwardly walking backward out of the front door to where a few caretakers were working. Jisung couldn't help but notice how good-looking that man is. He reminded Jisung of an actor. He wondered briefly if he was one of the few temporary nurses but when Han put his built and aura into consideration, he is just too approachable and scary to be a nurse or caretaker.

“Psst, Yuri,” Jisung whispered loudly enough for the caretaker to hear. Yuri looked up from the laundry basket and prompted Jisung to continue speaking. Jisung jabbed his thumb towards the building.

“Who’s that dude? You know, that dude that’s wearing a white tee under his black bomber jackets,” Jisung described, hoping that his memory hadn't failed him, “Ah, and he wore ripped jeans.”

Yuri raised an eyebrow and looked at him weirdly.

“Who the hell goes into details like that. You totally checked him out.”

Jisung puffed his cheeks out, “no I haven’t!” he defended. Yuri laughed at him before smirking evilly.

“Alright, since you didn’t want to admit to the truth then I wouldn’t be telling you who he is, too. We can both just have our secrets as a keepsake.”

“What the hell, Yuri!” Jisung half-screamed, “You witch!”

“Goodbye Jisung~” Yuri sang nonchalantly before grabbing her empty laundry basket and strode towards the backyard, “oh, and Happy Birthday~”

Yuri smirked as she turned, leaving Jisung standing right in the middle of the children’s laundry, alone, confused and annoyed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually enjoyed writing this chapter a lot. Happy Jisung is happy me :')
> 
> Love,   
> Devil's Soulmate  
> (｀∀´)Ψ


	4. I’M MINHO. LEE MINHO.

Yuri smirked as she turned, leaving Jisung standing right in the middle of the children’s laundry, alone, confused and annoyed.

“Jinsungie-hyung!” One of the boys, Minjun, called, his face and lips smudged with a chocolate cake that reminded Jisung of a civet cat, “Mrs. Jung said we need to save some cake for you too! So come quick!”

Jisung flashed a double “ok” sign with both of his hands before brisk walking towards the orphanage, Minjun already disappeared, presumably getting more cake. Upon stepping into the premise, Jisung couldn't help but feel a pung of disappointment when the brown-haired man was no longer where he was just now. The tables are now filled with children and staff members sharing his already disfigured Barbie-designed cake. Miso gave Jisung a plate of cake and he thanked her with a smile, lowkey wondering if that stranger had seen his Barbie-designed cake or even ate any. The thought had made Jisung blush with embarrassment more than he wanted so he just stuffed his cheeks with the cake he had on hand.

After half a day of teaching the younger children to read, and sacrificing his weak body to the older boys for playing “Monster Vs Heroes”, him being the monsters, of course, Jisung felt as if his whole skeletal structure is going to shatter any given second. He has about an hour and a half before it’s dinner time for the kids, so that means rest time for him. His body slumped against the swinging bench in the backyard, head lazily rested on the back of the bench, and his toes lightly tapped against the grass so he sways slightly. He glanced upwards to the maple trees above him, the leaves turning orange from yellow and they looked even more mesmerizing when seen under the evening hue, blue streaks blanketed the bright red sky and Jisung smiled to himself at the beauty before his eyes.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it,” A low, husky yet melodious voice rang, and Jisung looked up with surprise. It’s the brown-haired guy from before. He is now standing below a Persimmon tree that is also on the verge of turning full orange, a few reddened leaves threatening to fall, his eyes observing the maple tree that hung above Jisung. Han gaped at him in awe, absorbed and captivated by the picturesque scenery, quietly thinking to himself if the man before him is a model or not.

The brown-haired man turned his attention back to Han when there was a lack of response, and a playful smirk surfaced on his lips when he realized Han found him attractive. Jisung snapped out of his trance and looked away, face red with humiliation.

“Ye...yeah, it’s beautiful.”

The brown-haired man simply trudged over and sat beside Jisung, causing him to scramble to the side to make space for the attractive stranger.

“So it’s your birthday huh,” the stranger stated, “Jisung.”

Upon hearing his name from the stranger, Jisung snapped his head towards him. The blush on his face was visible even when the sky was darkening.

“You’re right but...how did you know my name?”

“I asked Mrs. Jung,” Minho replied before sticking his hands out towards Jisung, “and I’m Minho. Lee Minho, nice to meet you, Jisung.”

Jisung clumsily grabbed onto Minho’s huge hand, the feeling butterflies in his stomach fluttering. “Nice to meet you too, Minho” he muttered, eyes staring at Minho’s collar, “I’m Han Jisung.”

“How old are you?” Minho asked a brow raised quizzically.

“Uh, 20. How about you?”

“I’m two years older,” Minho smirked slightly, “I guess I’m your hyung then. Why are you here?”

“I’m a pediatric nurse!” Jisung answered proudly, the tint of pink on his cheeks not fading, “I’m still interning and under training though. I will become an actual nurse once I graduate from university next year. I started volunteering at this orphanage because it’s the closest one to Seoul Special Hospitals”

Minho thought about his answer for a while, as if he’s processing the new information. Han looked expectantly at Minho.

“That’s a very noble occupation,” Minho commented while bobbing his head, “I’m a coach for martial arts. I teach Mixed Martial Arts.”

_ Well, that explains his amazing physique _ , Jisung thought.

"Oh my god," Jisung had exclaimed, his eyes sparkled with admiration, "you teach boxing, wrestling, judo, jujitsu, karate, AND Muay Thai?!”

Minho nodded with slight amusement at the younger’s reaction.

“You HAVE to teach me someday!" Jisung exclaimed excitedly.

And Minho had laughed and agreed, saying that one day they could visit his training gym.

That evening, Minho had ordered pizza for everyone in the orphanage. He even asked Jisung for his flavors before ordering, and when Jisung told him that he doesn’t mind anything, Minho had threatened jokingly to buy every single flavor from the store, in which Jisung had settled for pepperoni pizza with his face flushed pink. Minho also ordered more food that can easily feed over 50 people and Jisung had wondered if his cake had been too shabby or pathetic as compared to Minho’s.

Minho had sent Jisung back to the dormitory that night. Jisung sat on his top bunk staring into space. He still can’t believe how Minho offered to send him back, only to reveal that he owns a racing bike by Harley Davidson. Of course, being a scaredy-cat, Jisung rejected Minho’s offer and told him that he will be fine taking a bus back to the hospital, but Minho wasn't having any of that; he had pulled Jisung towards him while he was seated on his bike and put on the spare helmet on Han without waiting for him to finish his disagreement.

“Here, all done,” Minho said as he clasped the clip below Jisung’s chin and jabbed to the seat behind him, “get on now.”

And Jisung complied, climbing onto the backseat clumsily and having to use Minho’s shoulder as support to keep his balance. He hoped that Minho wouldn't mind.

“Alright, hang on tight,” Jisung had heard Minho said, and he had clasped his clammy hand on Minho’s side. The moment Minho stepped on his pedal, Jisung basically slammed his entire foreword into Minho’s back and he held onto Minho with his dear life. The rest of the trip Jisung had buried his face into Minho’s back, his arms wrapped tightly around his waist. 

When they reached the lobby of the dormitory Jisung almost couldn’t step off the bike with his wobbly legs and Minho had to lend him an arm so he could balance by himself on the flat ground. Minho had chuckled at him, but Jisung didn’t hear any menace or mockery, so he just blushed inwardly by himself, hoping the older hadn’t seen his flushed cheeks. But Minho had. 

“Um, thank you for the dinner, hyung,” He muttered quietly, facing down and having his eyes trained onto his shoes as he fiddled with his fingers. Minho smiled at that sight. He lifted his hand and tilted Jisung’s chin up, forcing the younger to meet his eyes. Jisung’s eyes widened in astonishment and his face red with embarrassment as he was forced to watch Minho studying him openly. Jisung thought his heart was going to leap out of his chest when he saw Minho smirking at him.

“Good night, Jisung,” Minho whispered, eyes not leaving Jisung’s, “and Happy Birthday.”

“Good-good night, Minho.” Jisung stuttered, Minho then smiled at him one last time before dropping the hand that was holding onto his chin and sped off while the younger stood outside wide-eyed, awe-struck and stunned at whatever had just happened.

Jisung had lied in his bed and stared at the ceiling for the past 2 hours since he returned and bathed. All Jisung could think of is Minho. Minho. And more Minho. 

Just thinking about how good looking he is; his sweet captivating smiles; his soothing voices; the scent of his cologne when he had his face buried into his jacket; his hands when he held Jisung between his index finger and thumb. Gosh, Jisung’s heart has only been accelerating and the more he thinks about him, the faster it beats.

_ Shit, this is unhealthy _ , Jisung reasoned, one hand clutching onto the hem of his T-shirt. Just then, Jeongin bust through the door with Seungmin strolling in behind him.

“Happy birthday Jisung-hyung!” Jeongin exclaimed, holding the bags of street food up high, “We bought supper!”

Jisung just stared at both of them blankly before realization hit him. All he could think of was Minho he actually forgotten his own birthday. Seungmin narrowed his eyes at him.

“Han Jisung,” he reprimanded, “what did you do today?”

Of course, Han had told his two best friends everything. From the Barbie-designed birthday cake to the celebration at the orphanage and of course, the highlight of his day, a hot stranger who, if you think about it, bought him dinner.

“How old is he? What’s his name?” Jisung asked excitedly as he bounced like a fox pup.

“22, Lee Minho.”

“His occupation? His relations to the orphanage?” This time it was Seungmin who asked the question. Jisung could feel the questioning undertone in his question and he squirmed under the scrutinizing gazes of the doctor.

“He’s an MMA coach...,” Jisung replied, then he thought hard, “I don’t know how and why he went there...he was there when I reached.”

Jisung was hoping Seungmin would let him off the grilling, and thankfully, Seungmin decided to let Jisung live and dropped the topic, moving onto some other topics. Jisung smiled gratefully at his best friend, but he also worried that this might be the last time he’s going to meet Minho.

Jisung’s schedule went back to being super busy and hectic as usual, he almost forgot how the sun looked after being holed up in the wards forever. One afternoon, as Han was taking his usual break in the pantry, Mrs. Jung called him. She had invited him to Minjun’s 10th birthday and told him that Minjun had missed him dearly.

Han hung up the call with a sweet smile before his heart double skipped. Will Minho be there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pushing the chapters a little. I hope everyone doesn't mind.
> 
> Please leave some comments (๑◕︵◕๑)
> 
> Love,  
> Devil's Child  
> (｀∀´)Ψ


	5. OUGHT TO LOVE AUTUMN EVENINGS

As Jisung hoped, Minho was there. He stepped through the nursery to 2 children between Minho’s crossed legs, one of them hugging him and the other one playing with her toy airplane. The older man had worn a gray sweater, which made his entire look softer than usual. Han wanted to melt into goo at the sight. If he didn’t know Minho could get any more attractive,  _ THIS  _ Minho right here is the cutest thing he ever knew.

Minho noticed someone standing at the doorway and looked up, Jisung was checking him out, again. Minho smirked at him.

“Hi, Minho-hyung,” Jisung greeted awkwardly, hating himself for being caught staring at Minho again. He sauntered to where the older was seated and took a seat beside him, their knees were touching but neither of them moved away.

“Hello, Jisungie,” Minho replied with a cute eye smile, reaching over to ruffle the younger’s hair, Jisung lowered his face shyly, feeling his heartbeat accelerate. 

Minjun had a joyous celebration. It wasn’t grandiose or maleficent, but it was definitely homely and sumptuous, mainly because Minho had over-bought them with food that they can’t finish, but the caretakers were more than happy to have them stored as leftovers. Jisung also played many different songs with a guitar and held a sing-along session with the children.

Everyone was lazing around with drinks and snacks after the celebration, some children fighting the food coma setting in, some others had more energy to run and play with each other. Han had bought him a new set of outfits from one of the vendors near the hospital, and it had been a tradition he had with the children. He buys them new clothes whenever it’s their birthday so they actually own something new and of hand-me-down clothes. Minho had bought him a new Gundam figurine and it had made Minjun leaped in joy.

Jisung was sinking into one of the huge bean bags near the empty fireplace. He could vaguely hear all the kids playing in the foyer, nursery playroom, and the outdoor playground, but autumn evenings were too chilly for him. Moreover, the heat from the fireplace and the long working hours he had were definitely making him more and more comfortable. He could literally feel himself falling asleep right there and then.

Then, he felt the other side of his bean bag sink down before a huge muscular arm gently pulled him into an embrace that is more comfortable and warmer than the bean bag itself. Jisung let himself relax against the cuddle.

“Sleepy?” The soft, raspy voice murmured, Jisung could recognize his voice even on the verge of falling asleep, and a smile spread across his cheeks. Han hummed in response before burying his face deeper into Minho’s warm nape, his own cheeks blushed where it touches the older’s collarbone. 

If Jisung was wide awake and had a functioning brain, he would’ve questioned why Minho had done that or why Minho had not moved away from him when he found himself burying into his embrace, but Jisung decided that the embarrassment and regret could wait and he would deal with it later, but for now, all he wanted to do is to bask in Minho’s warmth and manly cologne.

“Jisung? Minho?” Jisung vaguely heard someone called out in the midst of him sleeping, he grumbled before turning slightly. Then he felt someone nudging his shoulder before the warmth beside him distant. Han fluttered his eyes open and sat up groggily. 

Apparently, Minho had fallen asleep too, with Jisung in his embrace and his chin resting on top of the younger’s head. Both of them sat there with messy bed hair while Mrs. Jung chuckled at both of them.

“Jisung-ah, you have work tomorrow, right?” Mrs. Jung asked and Jisung nodded as he rubbed his tired eyes. Then she turned to Minho who was smoothing out his messy hair.

“Minho-ah, can you send Jisung back? It’s late and I don’t think the buses are running anymore.”

Minho nodded as he reached out to smooth Jisung’s hair, smiling affectionately at the younger.

“Hyung, can I ask you something?” Jisung asked nervously as they walked out to the parking lot together. Minho hummed in agreement as he looked at the younger briefly.

“Why are you here? I mean, the orphanage,” He asked awkwardly, hoping the question doesn’t seem offensive or hurtful to Minho. The latter only stared blankly for a while before answering.

“I was from here.” That’s all Minho said, and Jisung raised his eyebrows up both in surprise and curiosity?

“From here? As in…”

“As in, I was an orphan from Victory Orphanage,” Minho answered smiling, but Jisung noticed how his smile didn't reach his eyes, and a huge lump formed in his throat out of guilt.

“I-I’m really sorry, I didn’t know.”

Minho smiled slightly, draped his arm over Jisung, and pulled the latter towards him. Han could feel the older shrug.

“It’s fine. It’s not really a taboo subject to me.”

Jisung smiled slightly, his heart hammering against his chest again. He gulped, it’s not or never.

“Hyung,” Jisung carefully asked, eyes boring in the ground as his cheeks flushed red, “can I have your number, please?”

There, he did it. And then he got it. Minho chuckled and gave Jisung his phone and had the younger type in his number, Minho then called Jisung with his own phone so that Jisung could have a copy of his number. After that, Minho had sent Jisung back to the hospital after that, with the younger practically clinging onto him like a baby koala with his face buried into his back, just like the first time.

“Jisungie,” Minho called as Han was fixing his own hair after taking off the helmet. Upon hearing the nickname, Han blushed lightly. If it’s not for his two best friends using the same nickname for him, he would have combusted out of love.

“Yes, hyung?”

“When would be your next rest day?” Minho asked casually, reaching up to straighten a strand of loose hair that Jisung missed. Jisung thought he was going to die from how affectionate Minho had done it.

“Um, next Tuesday?”

“Sweet,” Minho clucked his tongue and winked at Han, “Let’s go on a date then.”

For a split second, Jisung questioned whether he was either developing hearing problems, or whether he had saved an entire planet in his past life that God is actually rewarding him by giving him a date with the hottest person he ever set eyes on.

“A da-date?” The younger stammered out, almost in disbelief. This had caused Minho to chortle. It was a suppressed, yet sincere kind of laugh that Jisung would’ve swoon over if he wasn’t as shocked as he was at that moment.

“Yes, a date with you, Jisungie,” Minho confirmed, his eyes glistened with both tears from laughing and amusement from watching the younger, “alright, you should get going, it’s getting really late now.”

And Jisung complied, he ran back to his dormitory feeling like he could melt into a pile of goo because of the happiness he felt within him, his heart still thumping with vigor even after he reached his room. 

* * *

Jisung had exactly one week before his date with Minho and he’s just glad that he had work to keep him occupied and tired, or else he would’ve been jittery. Of course, he had to fill Seungmin and Jeongin in about Minho and his date, Seungmin had teased him for “being the happiest in 20 years of his life”, which Jisung didn't bother denying, and Jeongin pretended to be sad that he wasn’t going to be the center of Jisung’s attention anymore, to which, Seungmin had snickered in the younger’s face and told him that he was never the center of anyone’s attention and the youngest had pouted.

Jisung stood in front of the mirror that was in-built into his shared wardrobe with Jeongin fixing his shirt and doubting his own fashion sense as the other two watched him with amusement. It was one of the rare days that all three of them had any shift. Usually, he would’ve spent his rest days with them, maybe visit Seungmin’s house and have him cook a feast for them, or maybe they could visit a museum and take pretty pictures for each other, but today, it’s different. Jisung had a date and he’s going to be the first of the three to escape the singleton club.

“Seungminie and Innie,” Jisung asked reluctantly, his eyes still fixed to his own reflection, “do I really look okay?”

“Yes, yes,” Seungmin assured, “You’ve asked us that for like, twenty times. You look amazing, okay?.”

Jisung was wearing a black shirt under a denim jacket that was tucked into a pair of black jeans. He had asked the doctor to lend him a double-breasted suit jacket at first, which Seungmin only grimaced at his awful fashion sense with disgust before bringing his own denim jacket for Jisung.

Before Jisung could get anymore restless and morph into a ball of jittery mess, his phone vibrated in his jean pocket, almost startling him. It was a text from Minho.

I’m already at your lobby, it read. If Jisung was nervous just now, he was definitely panicking now. He shoved his wallet and phone into his back pocket before leaping towards his dorm room. Bidding his two good friends goodbye, with them shouting different variations of “good luck”, he ran towards the lobby.


	6. FIRST DATE & FIRST KISS

Minho was leaning against his own bike when he had his eyes focused on Jisung as the younger jogged slightly towards him, a playful, teasing grin on his face. He was wearing a long black coat over a white t-shirt. The color and the design of his simple outfit was highlighting his amazing body-line and Han thought he looked amazing. Seeing how Minho was staring at him, he stared at his own outfit again, self-conscious about how le looked.

“Why?” Jisung asked, “Do I look weird?”

“No,” Minho answered with a flirtatious smiling, his eyes still not leaving Jisung, “You look delicious.”

Jisung could feel himself died a little. It was like being called ‘smart’ by the smartest kid in your class but it’s even crazier now considering how the person just complimented him is the person he had the biggest crush on. Not to mention that he used the word “tasty” which is straight-up causing Jisung to redden like a tomato. Minho reached up and stroked his cheeks with his thumb, feeling the warmth radiating off the younger’s cheek, he chuckled lightly before grabbing the spare helmet and clasped it on Jisung’s head. He patted the backseat gently, signally this younger to get on.

“Where are we going?” Jisung asked as he watches Minho getting onto his own bike with ease and coolness. Minho smiled playfully under his own helmet and Han caught it.

“You’ll see.”

After speeding through the different causeways and turning into different alleys and lanes, Minho had stopped somewhere near a forest in Guri, somewhere east of  Seoul . It was completely deserted and the rest of the road looked like it leads to nowhere. Jisung climbed down the bike and looked around wearily.

“Hyung, where are we?”

Instead of answering him, Minho only smiled at him. After he was done parking his bike by the roadside, he walked straight into the forest. Jisung ran a little to catch up to him, still feeling extremely skeptical.

He followed closely behind Minho who seemed to know where he was going so he felt a little better. Still, he didn’t know where he was and what he was doing there so the feeling of uncertainty was definitely lingering at the back of his mind. Minho turned his head back to see Jisung following him like a scared puppy and can’t help but cooed at the sight. He slowed down his pace for the younger to catch up to him before reaching over to hold the younger’s hand. Jisung stared at him for a bit before a shy, contented smile spread across his face. He felt safe.

“Jisungie,” Minho called out suddenly while pointing to all the orange trees around them, “look at all the trees. They’re turning orange.”

Jisung nodded and marveled at the beauty he was surrounded in. He then grinned cheekily at Minho.

“The word Autumn" came from the Latin word "autumnus," and yet, some people call it "fall" because the leaves fall.”

Minho laughed heartily at that and Jisung was glad that boring facts like this can make the older laugh.

“You’re weird,” Minho commented, “it makes you cuter.”

After walking through the forest, Minho had brought Jisung to a slope that was not steep but fairly moderate and easy to hike up. The slope was a long one, but Jisung was lowkey happy that he can spend more time, with Minho. After telling each other a few bad jokes and Minho’s casual flirting, they finally hiked up the slope, Minho then dragged Jisung behind him as he jogged towards somewhere.

It was a meadow in an open clearing. It was huge and maleficent and it screamed liberty. Jisung almost felt like a child again as he sped through the open habitat feeling the breeze kissing his face. The sunlight was warm, yet hazy enough to give the clearing a bleak and pale ambiance. Jisung almost thought he was in heaven. 

Minho strolled up to somewhere where the grass patch wasn’t overgrown before sitting down cross-legged. He sat there and watched Jisung playing with a huge smile. He was very aware of his feelings; he knew his attraction towards him the moment he saw him playing with the kids at the front gate and sitting below the maple tree looking like he walked out of a magazine poster; how Jisung’s presence alone could make his heartbeats significantly faster; and how he could feel the literal warm in his chest whenever the younger showed him shy smiles. He recalled how he felt the first time he shook his hand, and how Jisung hugged his waist, and that evening when he finally got to hold the younger in his embrace, so small and so soft. He never knew someone could make him feel like this, especially when he knew who he grew up as - an orphaned child.

Jisung had tired himself out by running and skipping too much around the meadow and dragged his body towards where Minho was sitting. He plopped himself down and rest his two arms behind him, supporting his weight.

“This place is amazing,” he commented in awed, tilting his glistening eyes towards Minho. The older just smile softly before straightening his legs and patted on his thigh.

“Lie here.”

Of course, Jisung followed happily, immediately turning his back to the soft ground, laying his head on Minho’s strong thigh. He caught the older starring at him with an affectionate smile and he returned him one too.

“You know, back when I was younger, before I was sent into the orphanage, I lived with my aunt for a bit. I was born in Gimpo but she lives in Guri. And I found this place when I was running away from her house once,” Minho had attempted that as a light joke, but Jisung could detect the sorrow in his words.

“Why did you run away?” Jisung asked softly, a crease formed in between his eyebrows. He had a feeling he already knew the answer.

“She was very abusive and I was very rebellious. I refused to give in to the beatings and that’s why I ran away.” The older replied. The way he answered it had been so calm and collected it broke Han’s heart. He didn’t know how he was able to grow up from that environment and yet still so loving and strong. He swallowed the lump in his throat painfully as he tried to keep himself from imagining the traumas Minho went through. 

He reached his arms up and stroked Minho gently on his cheeks, and the older man flashed him a sorrowful smile.

“You’ve been so strong. I’m so proud of you.”

As their eyes locked onto each other, Jisung could feel the rest of the world fading into the background. He saw his own reflection through Minho’s brown iris and he swallowed. Nothing else really matters right now. He felt as if he was standing on stage and Minho is the only spectator watching him. To him, watching Minho is watching the brightest star in the sky, the star that illuminated his life. Nothing else but the two of them matter right now.

Minho had thought he saw an angel resting below him. The way Jisung’s touches are gentle yet comforting, the way his eyes squint and the way his brows furrowed with empathy, and the way Jisung looked at him with admiration and  _ love _ . Minho felt his heart quickened to a comfortable pace and it was a weird feeling. It felt as if everything was where they were supposed to be. He felt perfection. Han Jisung is perfect.

Minho licked his lips slightly before pressing his lips onto Jisung’s. He would felt the younger’s body tensed up slightly before relaxing into his touch. Jisung could feel Minho slowly kissing the top of his lips, the bottom of his lips, and then he felt his tongue between his own lips.

At first, it was one of those sweet kisses, but Minho’s lips and tongue movements were definitely driving Han crazy. He parted his lips slightly and allow the older’s entry to his mouth, then, slowly and gently, he found himself playing with Minho’s tongue. The latter chuckled slightly as he leaned in further, immersing himself in the younger’s playfulness. 

Jisung felt Minho cupping his jaw and tilting his chin up slightly. He soon realized their tongues were engaging in a slow, yet passionate dance. Every twist and turns made the fireworks in Jisung stronger and eager. Like he was elevated off the ground despite having his back planted into the earth.

Jisung had to force himself to stop before he suffocates to death. He hasn’t kissed that many people yet to master all kissing techniques but he knew Minho is not only a great kisser but also the best out of them. He smiled giddily at the older, the lack of air and the adrenaline rush was making him extremely enlivened. Minho chuckled at him as he stroked Jisung’s cheeks with the pad of his thumb.

After the sun had set, Minho had offered to bring Jisung to dinner somewhere near his place after their small outing. The younger had basically clung onto Minho so tightly that Minho suggested to piggyback him downhill and out of the forest. The dark and the occasional trees rustling were scary the wits out of Jisung that he happily agreed. It was only evening but it was extra dark up there in the clearings and the forest where there was no additional light source. Jisung helped Minho with shining his phone’s light at the path ahead of them but the older seem to navigate with ease even with the lack of directions and light.


	7. WILL YOU BE MY BOYFRIEND?

“Hyung, this is the best Kimchi stew I have ever tasted,” Jisung complimented with his mouth full, Minho looked up from his food and raised a curious eyebrow.

“Eat slower, no one is fighting that with you. If it’s not enough we can order more,” The older mused, using his own napkin to wipe the corner of Jisung’s lips. The younger grinned stupidly back at him before stuffing his face again.

Minho had brought him to a traditional Korean restaurant. He had told him that they sell the best Kimchi stew he had ever tasted and Jisung could very much agree. The restaurant was located somewhere near Victory Orphanage, though he never visited this place before, he vaguely knew where it was located based on the familiar street signs and landmarks. 

“Oh right,” Minho started, “Are you working tomorrow?”

Jisung shook his head before grabbing for the soft drink on the table.

“Then do you want to stay overnight at my place tonight?”

Upon hearing that from Minho, Jisung almost choked on his drinks. He forced the sparkly coke down his burning throat before the content could splatter from his mouth.

“Your...your place?” Jisung enquired with a perfect mix of embarrassment and disbelief. Minho only nodded nonchalantly as he stared back blankly at the younger.

“O-okay,” Han answered, still flabbergasted at the offer. But why would he turn down such a great offer?

After dinner, Minho had driven them out of the small remote town towards somewhere slightly more urban and city-like in Suwon. The building which Minho lived in was somewhere relatively nice. One of those middle-call apartments that scream coziness yet not overbearing to live in. It’s one of those houses that Jisung had wished to live in once he had enough money to do so. Minho had a surprisingly stunning apartment. It was far more huge and well-designed than Jisung had ever imagined. It was very Scandinavian styled, with most of his furniture and decorations in white, gray, and light brown.

Jisung stood in the middle of the living room as he looked around the house while Minho was busy preparing some home-clothes for him. The house smells like Minho, and the thought had made him giggled.

“Jisungie,” Minho came out of his room with a stack of clothes and towel, “You can go bathe in my room. The toiletries are inside the bathroom.”

“How about you? You can bathe first.” Jisung offered as he took the stack of clothes from the older.

“You’re my guest, take my bathroom,” Minho pointed his chin towards his room before nudging Jisung towards the same direction, “I’ll bathe in the one in my guest room. Oh, the clothes are slightly bigger, will that be okay?”

The thought of him wearing Minho's clothes and just the thought of sharing the night with him is enough to make Jisung blushed. He nodded quickly before dashing into Minho’s room. Before he went into the bathroom he noticed the king-sized bed in Minho’s room and wondered how it would have felt to cuddle with Minho in it.

Han immediately felt more refreshed and cheery when he came out of the bathroom. The shampoo and body wash smelled like Minho, the clothes smelled like Minho, the towel around his neck smelled like Minho, everything Jisung was surrounded by screamed  _ Minho,  _ and he  _ loved  _ it. He walked out of the bedroom, to catch Minho sitting on his sofa, washed up, and was using his phone.

Catching Jisung awkwardly walking out of his room, Minho immediately tossed his phone aside and patted on the spot right next to him.

“Come here.”

Han sauntered over and plopped himself down beside Minho, while the latter automatically opened his arm and pulled him into his embrace, having the younger one basically resting against his chest. 

“It’s bad to leave your hair wet,” Minho scolded gently before using his own towel to dry Jisung’s wet hair. With Minho massaging his scalp as he dried his hair, serenity was what Jisung felt. He would love to live in this moment forever.

Before Jisung could fall asleep to the serenity he was basking in, he pushes himself up slightly before turning his body to face Minho. Then he gulped.

Adrenaline started sparking through his veins, his heart hammering against his chest, which, if he wasn’t so nervous and jittery he would have felt physical pain from it. Jisung swallowed nervously but tilted his head nonetheless.

It’s now or never, Jisung contemplated. He felt his whole body tensed up when he imagined that Minho might just move or back away.

But Minho neither squirm nor threw himself back, instead, he leaned forward, both hands cupping Jisung’s jaws gently and tilting his head so his lips could meet his own. 

As their lips touched, Jisung could feel the fireworks in his body bursting into colors. Then he felt his body relaxed into Minho’s calloused but welcoming hand as he felt his entire being melt into the older’s universe.

“Han Jisung,” Minho murmured in between lips and kisses, “Will you be my boyfriend?”

Jisung could have answered that, but instead, he chose to reply through actions. He lifted his body so he could kneel on the sofa before leaning down to deepen the kiss.

“Of course,” He responded with a slight pant.

Their kiss wasn't rushed or awkward, it’s slow, exploratory, and passionate. Han could feel Minho smiling slightly against his trembling lips, sending wild tremors through his nerves, evoking sensations he had never realized he could experience. And before he realized it, he was kissing him back with the same passion as Minho did.

Cuddling with Minho in Minho’s huge, soft bed was something Jisung never thought he needed. Minho had force-carried Jisung bridal style into his room and onto his bed when Jisung started becoming all shy and suggested to sleep in the guest room. Of course, Minho wasn’t having any of that and he just held the younger’s shoulder before sweeping him off the floor and into his room.

Minho was casually stroking Han’s hair to his back, occasionally rubbing comforting circles into his waist while humming a song the younger had never heard before. Jisung had his forehead rested against Minho’s nape and his eyes on the older’s collarbone. It was very intimate and Jisung enjoyed it. And before he even realized it, he had fallen asleep in Minho’s warm, loving embrace.

* * *

Jisung woke up to an empty bed the next morning, but it was fine because he could smell the scent of food from the room and he knew Minho was making breakfast. Feeling extra lazy, Han basically flipped to lying on his stomach and buried his face into one of the pillows.

_ Bzzt bzzt.  _ The phone beside the pillows vibrated and Jisung grabbed it out of habit thinking it was his. He could see the text from the notification bar on the lock screen.

_ Minho, meet me at my place. 8.30 pm. _

_ Chan-hyung _

Jisung raised an eyebrow at the ambiguous text but he decided that it was none of his business because he didn’t want to come off as overbearing to Minho. Rolling off the bed, Jisung trudged towards the kitchen sleepily.

Minho was almost done with breakfast when he saw Jisung walking out of his bedroom, his clothes clearly too big for him as one side of his shoulder was almost fully exposed. He smiled at the younger and beckoned him to come closer to the kitchen counter. Jisung smiled lazily at him before going in for an embrace. After Minho released him, Jisung passed him his phone.

“Oh right,” Jisung said as he rubbed his tired eyes, “Someone texted you.”

Miho raised his eyebrows before grabbing the phone and taking a quick glance at it. He looked over to Jisung slightly, and saw that the latter didn’t question him but just eating his breakfast with a contented smile, Minho just slipped the phone into his back pocket before taking a seat across the younger. He decided that the lesser he knew, the safer he can be.

Before they could even finish breakfast in peace, Jisung received a phone call from Jeongin. Han raised an eyebrow quizzically before answering the call.

“Squirrel-hyung~” Jeongin sang, Jisung could clearly hear the teasing tone in his voice, “We have an assessment report due by tonight, are you coming back tonight or do you need me to submit it for you.”

“Oh crap!” Jisung jumped up from his seat, almost tipping his plate of food as he jumped up from his seats, Minho managed to save it with his fast reflex, “I finished my report, I just need to tie some things up before submitting! I’ll be back!”

Jisung sighed in defeat after the phone call and Minho chuckled.

“Is it for your university?”

“Yea…”

“Okay,” Minho nodded as he reached over and gave Jisung a comforting pat on the head, “We’ll finish breakfast, I’ll clean this up and we can go.”


	8. COMPETITIVE MINHO

Minho grabbed the plates and left them by the sink before grabbing both of their coats and passing Jisung his set of clothes. Han stared at Minho briefly and asked him if he’s okay with him wearing his oversized T-shirt back, to which Minho only burst out laughing and ruffled his hair with adoration. In the end, Jisung left his house with the oversized shirt tucked into his own pants.

Of course, Han wasn’t let off by his two friends who were both preparing for their submission in the shared dorm of Jisung and Jeongin. Staying somewhere else overnight other than the wards and wearing someone else’s shirt back were great indicators of whatever happened to Jisung.

“Hyung,” Jeongin had stated with a grimace, feigning a pained expression, “I can’t believe you left us behind.”

Jisung ruffled the younger’s hair aggressively and pinched his cheeks.

“I could never leave you, Innie~” He sang.

“Han Jisung, you better get all the details down,” Seungmin had commanded without even looking up from his laptop as he typed away.

“Yes, sir!” Jisung saluted with his signature cheeky grin.

(Line)

A few months have gone by, and their dates are always during days where Jisung is free. Minho had brought him to countless abandoned or deserted places that he found and lodged in while he was running away. Sometimes Mino also brought him to restaurants and eateries that he enjoyed, likewise, Jisung had brought Minho to places he had enjoyed with Seungmin and Jeongin, like cat cafes and museums. Most of the time, Jisung would spend his night at Minho’s place if he has consecutive rest days, and he almost couldn’t count how many pieces of Minho’s clothes he has taken back to his dormitory and how many pieces of his own clothes are hanging in Minho’s wardrobe.

“Hyung, when did you ever buy this T-shirt?” He remembered how Jeongin said that while fumbling with an oversized branded black Tee, Jisung only peeked up from his bed and told him it’s Minho’s. Jeongin frowned and re-folded that shirt before putting it in Jisung’s side of the wardrobe. Summer was coming and Jeongin wanted to use his rest day to clear out his wardrobe for more suitable outfits.

Seungmin had given him a dirty look and called him a cheapskate for hogging and stealing Minho’s clothes only because they’re branded and Jisung defended himself saying it’s because they’re more comfortable than his, to which, Seungmin also laughed at him for having to share a single wardrobe with Jeongin. The future doctor had gotten a pillow straight in the face for that.

“Are you going on a date later?” Jeongin had asked afterward.

Jisung nodded as he picked his phone up to check the time.

“Yeap we’ll be having lunch then he’ll bring me to his training gym.”

Minho had asked Jisung if he was interested in visiting his training gym, and Jisung, being the unfiltered person he is when he spoke, had told Minho that he is interested in learning how to defend himself. Minho had joked about needing to be paid, to which, Jisung pretended to be heartbroken and faked a tear or two.

And that is how both of them are standing in the training gym in sports outfits, located somewhere near where Minho lived. It had been closed for the days which Minho doesn’t work, which is almost all of the days he had dates with Jisung.

“We’ll be learning about basic boxing,” Minho had told him when he was tying the wrist wrap on Jisung’s hand. Han nodded before standing in the position Minho had instructed him to.

Minho had his left arm casually resting on top of Jisung's hip, his right hand grabbing onto the younger’s right outstretched arm, adjusting and pulling it into the correct position, his chest coming into full contact with own back, and from the side of his view, he could see Minho's sharp eyes concentrating on the position of his arm. The places where Minho is touching him were tingling and basically screamed for attention. Just a few centimeters and Minho could've his chin on top of his shoulders, Han swallowed nervously as he felt his mind falling into a whirlpool.

Even though Minho was explaining meticulously about his standing postures and placement of his footing, Han didn't hear a single word that he said. His eyes fell to his speaking lips and felt as if time in his world had come to complete time stop - everything around them had come to a stop except for them and he liked that. Oh, that lips, how Jisung would've liked that too. And that's when the unsolicited adrenaline rush started.

He fully understood that as a nurse, he should always be cool-headed and analytical, that's basically his job scope. But screw that shit, all he wants now is Minho's lips and he wanted it now.

He whirled his body around, surprising Minho by his sudden movement, wrapped his arms around the teller's neck and crashed onto Minho's lips. He could feel Minho's tensed body relaxed in satisfaction before pulling Jisung closer to him with his muscular arm. The shorter gasped slightly against Minho's lips as he almost fell forward, their chests crashing against each other.

The kiss Han initiated was almost rushed; too many teeth and tongue. But Minho didn't mind because it was what he had wanted, too, and he had to applaud Jisung for initiating it since the younger was always the one more timid and shy in their relationship. 

Minho chuckled faintly at Han's impatient and hasty lips. And he bit lightly on the latter's lower lip, causing Jisung to moan softly. Minho then changed the pace of the kiss.

Minho took his own sweet time to move his own tongue slowly around Jisung’s mouth, touching all over his tongue, as well as the insides of his cheeks and the roof of his mouth. It honestly drove the younger crazy and his head into a hot mess.

Never did he imagine that Minho would take over the kiss, but honestly he didn't really mind. If anything, it only made Minho hotter and dominating for being the more experienced kisser out of them.

Minho dislocated his lips from Jisung and the shorter fluttered his eyes open, arms still around the older's neck. Minho's soft gaze was observing and reading his own face but all he could think about was how memorizing Minho's brown eyes looked.

"The training just started, Jisung-ah," Minho murmured with a smirk, “let’s continue this after the training, okay?” His eyes flashed towards the younger's lips before dropping a quick peck on it, causing Jisung to blush fast and out of embarrassment. Then he pulled Jisung into a hug, huge warm hands rubbing on the surface of his back. Jisung melts into Minho's embrace as he takes a strong whiff of Minho's slightly scented T-shirt.

They had spent the rest of the day practicing in the training room, Boxer Training Gym. Minho would reward Jisung quick pecks is he did it correctly, and encourage him with kisses that traced long his jawlines and cheekbones

* * *

Jisung lied on one of the gym mats feeling like his skeletal frames were shattering, his limbs too muscle sore and heavy to move and his clothes were soaked. If anything, all he could blame is himself for being so out of shape and Minho for not going easy on him.

He might have regretted for overly boasting about what he is capable of doing, but the fact that Minho didn’t bother giving him leeway during the training is making him extremely pouty and sulky.

Minho raised an eyebrow at Jisung who was lying lifelessly on the ground after putting all the equipment. 

“The training wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Jisung almost jumped up and screamed.

“The training was bad! I don’t think I can walk anymore…” Jisung sulked before slamming his lethargic body down onto the mats. Minho chuckled slightly before walking towards the younger and carried him up in bridal style. Jisung yelped at the sudden levitation and quickly wrapped his arms around Minho.

“Hyung! What are you doing? Put me down, I can walk!”

“You said you couldn’t walk just now! So I’m carrying you to get a bath before you catch a cold,” Minho replied simply with a cheeky grin on his face. Han sighed in defeat before relaxing in the older’s arms.

It was getting late after both of them had cleaned themselves up, Minho had driven them to a nearby restaurant to have dinner before going back to his apartment. Jisung told the older man that he was too tired to go somewhere fancy for far and Minho had happily complied by bringing him to a chinese restaurant down an alley two blocks from the training gym.

“The Jajangmyeon is good, isn't it?” Minho asked, smiling. Jisung nodded cutely with the black bean sauce lingering on the sides of his lips.

Just as the two were finishing their dinner, a group of thuggish looking boys sauntered into the restaurant. Jisung who sat facing the entrance shot them a quick glance before ducking his head down to avoid their gazes. He just wanted to mind his own business and go back home safely to sleep.

Life went against how he had pleaded as he caught one of the older boys’ attention. The gangster-looking person had pushed past his peers and strolled up to the couple. He wasn’t very tall, probably the same height as Minho, but his physique was far more beastly and excessively built that he was almost twice the size of Jisung.

Ignoring Minho, the mean-looking stranger had reached over to grab Jisung by his jaw, forcing the younger man to look at him. 

“Wha-what are you doing?!” Jisung yelled as he tried to scuffle himself free from the man’s iron grip. Minho didn’t even look up to the man but he was pissed. Veins were visible on his arms, wrists, and neck. He clenched his jaw.

“Released your hand,” He said through gritted teeth. The thuggish man simply returned him a lazy smirk.

“Why should I? He’s cute?” He replied nonchalantly, hands tightening his grip on the younger’s jaws, causing Han to wince in pain, “And I want you to know that, I always get what I want, even if he belongs to you.”

Before anyone could react, Minho had leaped up from his feet and landed a strong punch on the stranger’s jaw, causing the latter to let go of Jisung and stumble backwards and fall down, crying in pain.

“Boss!”

“Yongjun-hyung!”

“Hyung!”

Frantic shouts were heard from the thug’s associate, all of them either running up to help him stand or standing protectively in front of him looking as if they were all ready to fight. 

Minho straightened his black leather jacket and cracked his knuckles. He wasn’t going to back down after how they had basically disrespected Jisung and him, and also disrupted their date night, that could’ve ended well but ruined thanks to them.

“Hyung,” without caring about his jaw, Jisung ran towards Minho and grabbed the older man’s arms in an attempt to calm him down, “We should just go…”

Minho gently pulled Jisung away and pushed him behind his back, his arms still trained on the gang that stood threatening before them.

“Jisung, stand back.”

And that’s when all hell’s break lose. Jisung didn’t even catch which side attack first, all he saw was Minho agilely dodging everyone’s punches before fighting back coolly. One of the men had lunged for him but he had given him a roundhouse kick on the head, which Jisung immediately thought was a skill he desperately needed to learn.

While Minho’s combat skills were far superior to those that he had fought, he still managed to sustain some cuts and bruises from the fight. Minho had pulled Jisung out of the restaurants irritated with seven or eight people strewn across the restaurants while the younger had been apologizing profusely for the mess they had caused.

Minho had pulled Jisung to his bike, halted to a stop before pulling the younger man into his arms.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” Jisung heard him whisper sadly before burning his head deeper into Jisung’s nape. Han reached up to rub soothing circles into his back. 

“It’s okay, hyung. Thanks for protecting me back there,” Jisung comforted, “Plus, I wasn’t hurt at all. You’re the one who got injured on my behalf.”

“You’re such an angel, Jisungie,” Han heard him say. The younger pulled away from the hug before pecking his boyfriend on the lips with a tender smile.

“Let’s go home and get all your injuries cleaned up.”


	9. THE SAME AUTUMN, A DIFFERENT SURPRISE

It was autumn again, Jisung’s favorite season. Last year, he got to meet Minho during his birthday, and it was, honestly, the best present that Jisung had ever received. His birthday had just past and Seungmin had gotten him a pair of branded new shoes and Jeongin had gotten him a pretty bracelet. As for Minho, he promised that he will get him a double surprise alongside their first anniversary of dating, which Jisung was very excited for.

Jisung had pre-ordered a bouquet of roses and bought a pair of customized tumbler cups for both of them because they both love Iced-Americano coffee and it was a cute coincidence that he cherished dearly. 

One more day and it would be his first anniversary dating Minho and he had been anticipating it for the longest time. He even took that specific day off just so he could celebrate it on the actual day itself.

“Hyung, what time should I get ready tomorrow?” Jisung texted. He needed to know what time he should get up to get ready and to pick up the bouquet he had ordered.

Han had been packing his wardrobe for the past 45 minutes, and Minho has yet to reply to him. This was kind of weird because Minho never took less than 30 minutes to reply to his text, but Jisung shook it off, assuming Minho was busy with work.

Almost two-hours have passed and Jisung was almost done with his monthly report. He stretched before grabbing his phone that was across the table. Still no reply. He raised his eyebrows before shrugging. Maybe Minho hasn’t received his text? He’ll just send another one.

“Minhoney-hyung, what time should I get ready by tomorrow?”

About five hours have passed and he still hasn’t got a reply yet, despite already sending him five texts and calling him three times, each time, the calls have been sent to voicemail. All he had been doing was trying to distract himself and keep himself occupied by doing the most random things, including cleaning the dorm and ironing all his work clothes. It was worrying him how the older male hasn’t replied or called him yet. Just then, Jeongin had walked in after finishing his shift.

“Hyung, I’m back~” He sang before looking at the surroundings, “Woah, the room is clean! Hyung did you clean it?”

“Innie,” Han said as his fingers nervously toyed with his phone, “Tomorrow is my anniversary date with Minho but he hasn’t replied to my texts and his phone has been turned off.”

Jeongin frowned as he removed his outer coat.

“Could it be a surprise for you?”

“Minho has never done anything like this before,” Jisung replied as he pulls out one of the chairs to sit on, “Even if there are any surprises that he planned, he has never disappeared on me at all. Especially not after all my texts and calls.” 

“Do you want me to accompany you down to check on his apartment or something?” Jeongin asked, before pulling Jisung into a comforting hug.

“Innie, you have work tomorrow, I’ll go alone,” Han answered firmly as he shook his head. 

“Seungmin-hyung is not, let him go with you, it’s getting late,” Jeongin replied as he fished his phone out of his back pocket, “I’ll give him a call.”

* * *

And that is how Jisung is sitting at the back of a cab almost 11 pm at night with Seungmin patting his back trying to calm him down. Minho’s disappearance is scaring him and he hates the uncertainty and fear that were building up in him.

Seungmin struggled to keep up with Jisung as he ran towards his apartment building. Reaching Minho’s floor, Jisung didn’t even think twice before ringing Minho’s doorbell anxiously.

Once.

Twice.

No response.

Before Jisung could call Minho again, Seungmi had reached out to grab the door handle. The door hadn’t been locked so open easily. Seungmin and Jisung looked at each other before pushing the door open.

Empty. Completely empty. The once homely and beautifully designed apartment was empty. So empty that it looked like no one had lived there before. Jisung felt his stomach drop and then sunk into an abyss he never knew existed.

He walked in with disbelief. What the hell was going on? Just last week, he had gone on a date with Minho to the aquarium, and now? He was gone like he never existed before.

“Jisung-ah,” Seungmin called from the bedroom, “Come over here for a bit.”

Jisung swallowed hard and trudged towards the bedroom he used to sleep and cuddle with his boyfriend. The bed and wardrobe sat inside but the room no longer smelt like Minho. It no longer felt cozy or comfortable. It felt distant. It made him felt uncomfortable. It felt  _ unfamiliar _ .

Seungmin had opened Minho’s wardrobe and the content was almost empty except for a few clothes that were hanging inside. Jisung felt his nose sour. The clothes that were hanging neatly inside were all of those that he had left behind, including two of his white T-shirts, a gray hoodie, and a dark green windbreaker that he had long forgotten.

Was his relationship with Minho so shallow that even his items were not worth taking with? Did he have to disappear on him as if he didn't exist in his world?

Is this Minho’s way of telling him that he has dumped him, 1 day before their first anniversary? 

All these questions have left Jisung broken and a new level of miserableness that he never knew was possible. Seungmin sat beside him and patted Han’s back as he watched his best friend bawled in the bedroom that once contained so many emotions, memories, and love.

The way back to Seoul Special Hospital was the most pathetic and exasperated Jisung has ever felt. The route back from Minho’s apartment had never felt as draining and bothersome. He could feel Seungmin rubbing a comforting hand on his back but he was too lethargic and worn out to respond.

That night, he had fallen asleep in Seungmin’s room instead of the one he shared with Jeongin. One, because he didn’t want Jeongin to be stirred awake in the dead of night, especially when he had a full day shift the next day. Two, the sense of familiarity of Seungmin who had a better idea of his situation could calm him down better than to leave himself with his overflowing thoughts.

For the next few months, Jisung went on autopilot mode as he forced himself to be fully occupied by work. He even took on more shifts just so he didn’t have so much free time to be depressed or wallow in self-pity. When he did have his compulsory shift breaks, he spent his day either cleaning his dorm room or finishing his university reports in advance.

He did go back to Victory Orphanage once or twice for the first week since the day Minho had disappeared into thin air. He had asked Mrs. Jung about Minho, who only apologetically replied that she had no idea where he went. Jisung never went to the backyard nor the fireplace ever again. He always stayed with the children and he never stayed late till the buses stopped working.

Ever since that day, Jisung realized that there is no need to get to the bottom of everything. Because the more he thought of why Minho would disappear on him like that, the agony in his heart would just become worse and worse, which Jisung never knew is possible but it happened. At some point in time, even coming up with an excuse, no matter how stupid or lame they sound, just hurts. And the more Han thinks about it, the hollowness he felt in his heart just becomes deeper. 

For the past few years, Jisung is nothing but grateful for his two best friends. All three of them have managed to graduate from their university as top students, and they were employed back to Seoul Special Hospitals, given their own nurse and doctor dormitory rooms and more responsibilities. Despite the lack of time they were given to spend together, Seungmin and Jeongin had refused to let Jisung wallow in self-pity or regress in his depressive episodes. 

They know better than to bring up Minho or whatever had happened in that autumn, instead, they have been extremely supportive of him. They brought him out to play, brought food to him, and even drank in Seungmin’s room, the doctor’s dormitory, even if it was against the rule.

Even if Seungmin was a doctor in the pediatric and Jeongin was a nurse, like him, and working in the same department as them, meeting one or two of them regularly was almost mission impossible due to the hectic schedules and the crazy working hours that Jisung swore, to Seungmin and Jeongin, that it may and will send him to cardiac arrest one day for overworking.

“Shut up, drama queen,” was Seugmin’s reply and Jeongin had burst out laughing at the exchange.

The next few years haven’t been easy for Jisung, but he had a great amount of time to heal, to think. But even so, Jisung has yet to come to terms with whatever had happened to him. But he knew better to conceal those memories, zip locking them into an airtight parcel and chugging it into the deepest and unreachable part of his hippocampus, the neocortex, and the amygdala, for the sake of his sanity. He even prayed to God that those memories would never resurface or bite him in the ass one day.


	10. THEY DID BITE HIM IN THE ASS

Jisung choked back tears as the memories were all gushing back like open floodgates. He didn’t know that these memories could hurt so much. He thought they would go away with time. He thought that he would be over it by now. 

But they didn’t. And it’s breaking him in every way possible. He did what he hasn't done in a while. He opened the drawer that was located on top of his sink and grabbed out a bottle with the title “Zaleplon”. It was a kind of sleeping pill used to treat insomnia. It was a prescribed drug by a doctor in his hospital back when he still needed them regularly.

* * *

Jisung woke up to Seungmin calling him for the tenth time and JiSung considered flinging his phone across the room only for his sanity and reality to seep into his consciousness.

He doesn’t even know when and how he fell asleep on his small couch but is body sure still ached.

“Hello?” JiSung croaked, voice deep and laced with lethargy.

“Oh, so you have decided to answer my call,” Sungmin answered with light sarcasm, JiSung can imagine him raising his brow with annoyance. He massaged his temple as he rolled over to his sides, trying to find a more comfortable spot, and sighed lightly when he found it.

“Yea...Sorry…”

“Alright, anyway,” Seungmin continued, food cooking in his background could be heard and the thought of Seungmin’s culinary skills made Jisung’s mouth water, “I made enough food for you and JeongIn, he’s coming over right now and you should too.”

Jisung smiled, his eyes blinking open.  _ This _ . This right here is the normalcy he craved for. Not being kidnapped by a gang that apparently his missing ex-boyfriend is a part of.

“Yea, I’ll be there right now,” Jisung dragged his words in an attempt of acting cute, knowing it would irritate the hell out of Seungmin, and then he laughed in triumph when Seungmin hung up their phone call in annoyance.

“Jisungie,” Seungmin muttered, his eyes observing and reading the nurse who just walked into his room, “you look...awful…”

Jeongin looked up from his plate of pancakes and started staring at Han too. The latter swallowed nervously. He always knew how he could never hide anything from his best friends, especially how all of them sort of do it out of professional habits, it’s kind of creepy.

“I, um, fell?” Jisung lied, praying that his shitty lie could convince the two of them.

Seungmin put the frying pan down onto the table just to cross his arms. Yeap, it didn’t work.

“You gotta stop lying, hyung,” Jeongin stated, his face filled with a rare chagrin, “You didn’t call back any of our calls from last night, too.”

“Those marks on your wrists? Those are rope marks, and we have all seen that from children who have been through domestic abuse,” Seungmin pointed out, Han could easily identify the underlying annoyance and anger in his voice, “And that cut from your cheeks definitely didn’t happen because of a fall. Spill, what happened?”

Jisung took his shoes off and avoided all possible eye contact with his two friends. He then took big steps across Seungmin’s room to get to the dining table, with the calmest and nonchalant voice he could muster.

“I was kidnapped.”

The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence, both of his friends trying to process the words he just said. And Jisung understood their sentiments, because what the hell. Seungmin was the one who managed to piece and organize the puzzles together.

“How...and why were you kidnapped? By who?” Han could hear the anxiousness in his voice.

“I went to Victory Orphanage yesterday, as usual,” He tried explaining, “And then suddenly a few men came in and...tied me up. As for the who…”

He glances at the two in the room, who stared back at him with owlish eyes.

“It’s by a huge...organization,” Han frowned at his own choice of words, “Some gang...criminal...organization. That Minho was in.”

Jisung watched both of his friends lose their marbles right in front of him. He could hear Seungmin cussing at Minho in multiple languages including English and Japanese, while Jeongin just went into a trance due to shock. He would have gone ballistic, too, if this were to happen to any of them that’s not him.

Seungmin had cleaned and bandaged the cut and Jeongin had gone back to the hospital to get the older some soothing cream for the burns on his wrists. The two of them avoided bringing Minho up while spending the day trying to come up with various theories about the reasons for the kidnapping. Jisung, on the other hand, had refused to participate in their conversations. He had been stuffing his face with food to distract himself from a certain  _ someone _ .

* * *

Jisung was wearing his headphone and blasting music while ironing his uniform for the next day, occasionally humming and singing to the lyrics. Exactly one week has passed and he realized if he keeps himself busy constantly, then the kidnapping incident and Minho's reappearance wouldn't faze him. He's absolutely determined to not let Lee Minho get into his head ever again.

As if on cue, the intercom connected to his room rang and he reached across to the door and pushed the button.

"Han Jisung speaking."

"Good evening, Mr. Han," the security guard greeted, "there's a man out here who's looking for you."

Jisung glanced at his Apple Watch. It's 9:45 pm and he has a guest. That's new, but also suspicious. He could feel his neck getting warm from nervousness.

"Uncle Choi, can you help me ask for their name?"

There were a few mumbles from the other side of the line before Uncle Choi returned to the line.

"Mr. Han, he said he is Mr. Lee. He said you would know who he is."

_ Lee Minho _ . Jisung froze briefly before contemplating on asking Uncle Choi to send him away.

_ But what if it's my last time to meet him ever again? _ Jisung swallowed the irrational fear that's bubbling inside him. He hated being like this. He wanted to proudly say that he's over it and send Minho away, showing him that he can do well even if he didn't have him in his life. But even Jisung knew how big of a lie that is.

For all 4 years that Jisung had tried to heal and forget Minho, all he ever did was to shove the memories into somewhere and pray that they don't spring up like jack-in-a-box. He pretended he didn't exist so he could function like a normal person instead of letting it hinder his emotions and capabilities of working. He knew he was never over Minho and it definitely was not because of the lack of closure.

He still loves Minho and he knows it.

"Uh, Uncle Choi, can you ask him to wait for me for a while? I'll be down there real quick." Jisung muttered quickly and hung his intercom up.

Han didn't really care if his dark blue blouson jacket looked weird on top of his yellow oversized tee or not, or how he might have mismatched his socks, or that he didn't fix his hair before he left the house, all he wanted at that moment is to meet Lee Minho.

Minho was leaning against a black Mercedes and staring into space, unaware that Jisung had arrived. He was wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt, his now brown-ish blonde hair styled neatly, and Jisung’s heart sped up unconsciously at how ethereal and amazing he looked. Han also noticed how there was a chauffeur inside the driver’s seat and 2 more men that stood behind the car. They unnerved Jisung but he wasn’t going to back down from it.

“Lee Minho,” the younger man called out from a good five feet away, his face void of expression. Minho looked up and landed his eyes on him, his intimidating gaze immediately softened.

“Jisungie,” Minho called out, taking a few huge strides toward the younger. Han immediately panicked and almost leaped backward.

“Do-don’t!” Jisung yelped and Minho halted to a stop. The fact that Minho had returned hasn't really set into Jisung’s reality yet.


	11. THE EXPLANATION JISUNG DESERVED

Yes, he missed him greatly, but that doesn’t mean he is ready to meet him and accept him back to his world just like that.

The older put on his infamous poker face and slowly walked up. Han had realized his back had hit the wall of one of the pillars but Minho still had two or three steps before he was right in front of him. They were a few centimeters apart and the shorter male had to lower his head away from Minho who was studying him, again.

“Han Jisung, if you’re going to avoid me forever, I will have to kidnap you, again,” Minho leaned towards the younger’s ears and seductively threatened, his eyes his voice is heavily laced with mischief and underline with a sense of danger, which Jisung lowkey found it hot but he would never admit it. Looking back, he hadn’t tried to avoid Minho at all. Probably one or two incidents, but definitely because he was too busy with his shift.

“Mr. Han,” A nurse from his ward had called him before passing him a slip of paper, “This number was looking for you last night but because you weren’t working, I got the number down for you. You can call them back.”

Han had raised an eyebrow before reaching over to grab the paper.

“Alright, thank you, Ms. Shin.”

Before he could give the number a second look, a doctor had called for his attention. So, he threw the paper into his pocket before carrying on with work.

Han swallowed the nervousness he had and mustered a sense of courage he never knew he had. It’s fine even if it’s a facade. 

“Oh yeah?,” Han challenged, turning his head towards Minho and tilting his chin up to meet his gaze, squaring his shoulders to make himself slightly bigger in size, “try me, Mr. Lee Minho.”

* * *

And that’s how Jisung found himself sitting beside Minho in the backseat of a black Mercedes, his hands cuffed behind his back. He doesn't know what has gotten into him because he knew better not to challenge Minho, in any way. He knew how competitive and aggressive Minho would become when it came to winning something. 

Of course, even if Minho didn't threaten to kidnap him, he would’ve complied and followed him, too. He just didn't want to seem like an easy target to Minho and leave without putting up a good fight. Sure, he knows his combat skills are pathetic as compared to Minho's, but his dignity is on the line and he sure didn't want to lose out on that. Although, he wasn't particularly sure if he looks more pitiful and miserable now. 

But, he also knew how much Minho had been sparing him. Just a handcuff? Apart from the freezing cold metal that rubs uncomfortable against his wrist, the number of constraints Minho had put on him is literally a child’s play.

“Is it uncomfortable?” Minho asked, reaching behind Jisung to adjust the handcuff. Jisung shrugged him off, using his coldest and meanest voice.

“Don’t touch me.”

Minho chuckled as he reached up to stroke Jisung’s cheek with the pad of his thumb, and he sighed softly when the younger literally whipped his face away from his touch. Even if Jisung was acting defiantly, he can't deny how much he missed Minho’s affectionate touches.

Jisung had watched the car drive towards somewhere remote before driving uphill and into a forest and had wondered if Minho had finally decided to end his life. He also knew he was overthinking because he knew Minho would never hurt him in that way, but it was still pretty shocking when the car had stopped inside of the parking lot of what seemed like a private 3-story villa that sat in the middle of nowhere. 

There were men who opened the car door for Jisung, who literally had to squirm out of the seat due to the restrictions of his limbs. Minho made sure Jisung got out safely before getting out of the car himself. 

“Good evening, Boss” The soldiers and guards had greeted him, in which Jisung watched with amusement while also being hyper-aware of his surroundings.

Who could blame him though? Apart from dating someone who he thought was just a martial arts coach for almost a year, and working his ass off as a pediatric nurse and basically wasting his precious youth in the wards, he had never stepped foot into what the “underworld” seemed like. Especially not when his missing ex-boyfriend turned out to be some boss of a gang or something like that.

The older male had placed a hand behind Jisung and walked him up to where the living room is located, and truth to be told, the familiarity had greatly calmed him down. 

Before stepping into the living room, Minho had ordered his men to uncuff Jisung and ordered them to step away from the premises, giving him and Jisung more private space. The younger had meander timidly towards where the couches were and huddled up into a small ball. He couldn’t help but notice how the coach was at least five or six times bigger than the one he had in his personal dorm. 

Minho walked out of the kitchen with a mug of hot cocoa in his hand and placed them on the coffee table right in front of Jisung, he had a cup of ice Americano for himself. The older shot him a cautious look before taking a seat perpendicular to where Han was sitting.

"Well, I know you want answers, so I will give them to you.”

_ That  _ got Jisung’s attention. He sat up straighter to listen to his story, in which Minho took that as a cue to continue.

“I haven’t lied to you, Jisung. I was a runaway orphan who was found and sent to Victory Orphanage. When I reached 18 years old, the director then had forced me to leave the orphanage and I had to search for my own jobs to earn myself a living,” Minho explained, “But who would be willing to hire a kid who has no education and no family? I was always getting into fights, and I will be detained by the police for fighting. I would walk out of the police station just to get into fights again. That was my norm.”

“There was this one time when I was beaten up so badly I thought I was going to die. I lied in the back alley with almost all of my bones dislocated. I thought my name would appear in the obituary or in the news as an unidentified dead man,” Minho stated quietly but Jisung frowned, his expression softened, “But that didn't happen because I met Chan-hyung. He was also an orphan in another orphanage, Haven Orphanage. He offered me a job and a place to live. And in return, I joined his gang, Stray Kids.”

“After joining his gang, he had told me many things. During my stay in Victory Orphanage, Mrs. Jung was not the director yet; Victory Orphanage, Haven Orphanage, and many other orphanages were registered under a certain politician, by the name of Hong Guk-Son. Chan-hyung had found out that he had planted various underlings and Capos into the orphanages as directors, caretakers, and nurses, in which they would carry out illegal and inhumane activities."

Minho took a breather and took a sip of his ice Americano. Jisung involuntarily gulped. He had a feeling that this was not going to go in a good direction.

"Hong Guk-Son had made several connections with mafia gangs, black-market vendors, and some hospitals to make underhand trade through human- and organ-trafficking and selling organs of the orphaned kids. The younger, the better; the younger, the higher their organs cost.”

"How would they execute that?" Jisung’s voice came out like a whisper, his whole body trembling in disgust and fear when he imagined what the children of Miso and Minjun’s age had to go through.

"One of the underlings just had to pretend to 'adopt' the kid. It's all just for show so the neighbors and actual nurses and caretakers wouldn't suspect them of their activities. It's all just for show,” Minho shrugged joylessly, and the younger had felt anger boiling in him.

  
  


"You see, despite being an older orphan, Chan-hyung was adopted by a mafia leader who was seeking a successor. Christopher Chan, also known as Bang Chan,” Minho continued, Han nodded quietly, “Chan-hyung came to me and asked for my loyalty in return. And I, well,  _ we  _ are going to seek revenge for those of our friends and children who never got to live to see another day.”

“Four years ago, Chan-hyung may have underground connections, but we were far behind in terms of resources and manpower for the execution. We were literally using illegal means against a politician, who can use his money and people to shut anyone up; that’s like going to war with sticks and stones where our opponents have tanks and machinery,” Minho watched as Jisung pressed his lips into a straight line, thinking so hard and trying to piece the puzzles together, the older could almost hear the gears turning in his head, “Chan-hyung’s plans were found out by Hong Guk-Son and he wanted to hunt us down to eliminate us completely. We had no choice but to leave like we didn’t exist.”

Minho’s body slumped in fatigues and leaned back into his sofa. It was the first time in that day that he had let his vulnerable side be shown, and Jisung had missed that side of him dearly.

"I really didn't mean to leave without notice," Minho said apologetically, and Jisung stared at him, his heart skipped two beats, "but back then, if I had told you more than I should, or if I managed to get you involved in this matter somehow or somewhere, I’m not even sure if I have the sufficient power to protect you."

Jisung could feel his nose sour, tears were slowly forming at the base of his eyes threatening to fall. Minho had changed so much since four years ago when he first met him. He was so tired. So worn out. And so  _ grown-up _ .

"Now that Chan-hyung has taken over the organization, we have more power and more resources to get what we always wanted,” Minho explained, he looked away slightly before continuing.

There's not a single day in these 4 years I don't think about you, Jisungie.”

And that was the breaking point for Jisung. He hugged his knees and he bawled. He doesn’t know what he was crying for. Was it for the children who died in the hands of greedy politicians? Or was it the fact that he had no idea how much hardships and unfairness that the man he loved had to go through since birth?

Or was it how he had so much grunge and anger towards the man who loved him so much he had put his life on the line to protect him?

He could feel himself being enveloped into a pair of warm, big arms. The same arms that had given him so much comfort have once again, given him the same kind of solace that he desperately sought. He didn’t know how or when it happened, but Jisung felt himself slipping into unconsciousness as the wave of tiredness hit him.


	12. COME TO BED WITH ME?

Jisung woke up in a king-sized bed, a thick, fluffy blanket covered him, and his clothes have somehow been changed out to something more comfortable and  _ oversized _ . He sat up with a painful headache, overwhelmed with both emotions and thoughts. He couldn't particularly remember what happened after he fell asleep, but he definitely knew that time was going so fast he was having a hard time trying to process and catch up.

Han grabbed the analog clock that sat by the bedside. 3.30 am.

He rubbed his temples and looked around his room. It was still Scandinavian themed and the familiarity had brought a sense of comfort to Jisung.

Looking around the room once more, he frowned when Minho was nowhere to be found. He didn't know why he was the first person he would try to look for at 3am in the morning.

Still, he didn't feel as tired as before and didn't think he could fall asleep again even if he wanted to, so he stumbled out of the bed and almost tripped before trudging towards the door.

It wasn't an exaggeration when the Pediatrics nurse felt like he was roaming around the maze-like villa like a headless fly trying to look for someone he's familiar with. There were just too many rooms after rooms and it felt like he was running around in circles. The entire floor had about 5 or 6 rooms, the floor was completely carpeted and there are expensive vases and paintings decorating the place. Han didn't know where he was but he assumed he's one or two floors above the living room. He almost slammed into the chest of a guard who was roaming around for security whilst turning into another corner and Jisung felt like his soul left his body temporarily.

"So-sorry!" The shorter male bowed as he felt the guard stared him down. It was an extremely awful feeling when you considered how the last time he was basically kidnapped.

"If you're looking for Mr. Lee I can bring you to him," the guard replied before turning heels around, "follow me."

Jisung jogged behind the guard towards one of the other rooms at the very end of the corridor. He would never have made the right guesses even if he tried. The guard stopped before the door and motioned Jisung to knock. Jisung stood awkwardly outside the door before staring pleadingly at the guard.

“Can-can you knock the door for me?”

The guard was startled at the request but complied nonetheless. He knocked on the door twice.

“Mr. Lee, this is So-geum.”

“Come in.” A voice behind the door answered. The guard opened the door and Minho was sitting behind an office table, busy typing away behind his laptop. With the number of books and files on a wall-sized bookshelf, Jisung supposed it’s a study room or some sort. Maybe an office room.

"So-geum, can you help me check the status of the warehouse by tomorrow morning? I need it by 8.30 am," Minho ordered, eyes still glued to his laptop screen. He was still wearing his dress shirt and pants, jacket resting on one of the couches in the room and his hair was slightly disheveled. Han thought he still looked amazing though. The guard gave Jisung a look, and the shorter male took it as a chance to step forward.

"Is this how you're living?" Jisung's voice piped up behind the guard, who's name is supposedly So-geum. Minho finally tore his eyes away from work to stare at the two men that stood in front of him. Jisung looked exceptionally small beside So-geum and in his oversized Tee.

Minho raised his eyebrows at So-geum, who nodded his head in understanding.

"Yes, Boss, I'll come back before 8 am,” So-geum bowed slightly before leaving the room. 

Jisung smiled slightly before taking the seat across Minho. The older man had been extra wary with him ever since they reached his house. He was afraid of how the younger would react to everything, to him, and he knew how affected the younger was already, and he didn't want to add more fuel to the fire.

"Why are you not sleeping? It's the small hours, you should be resting."

Han had his elbow on the table, propping up his chin. He had a soft, but unreadable smile.

"Minho...hyung," he murmured softly, he choked out the last part a little, "can I ask you a question?"

Minho swallowed nervously. He couldn't remember when was the last time he felt as tense. He nodded.

“Why was I kidna- I mean, like, taken in? And why didn’t you speak up for me, or even free me when you saw me there?”

Minho raised his eyebrows, pressing his lips into a thin line before giving Jisung the answer.

“Mistakes were made by our underlings, Jisung,” Minho sighed, “I was supposed to look for you after we have everything sorted out, after all of our businesses were sorted out. We just returned back to Seoul one month ago and we have allocated small portions of soldiers and guards stationed in all orphanages to prevent history from repeating itself. When they saw you appearing as someone not registered under the orphanage itself, they automatically thought you work for Hong Guk-Son, and that’s why they took you into us for questioning.”

That’s fair, Jisung contemplated. Minho sipped his coffee before continuing.

“I didn’t stop Chan-hyung because they needed to do a background check on you before they can let you leave. Also, Seoul Special Hospitals,” Minho paused again, studied Jisung’s expressions before carrying on with what he was saying, “Is registered under Hong Guk-Son. I cannot...take the risk even if I have complete trust in you, Jisung-ah.”

Han thought through the answer. He had been working for a hospital that is registered under a criminal? 

“Then, were you lying to me when you told me you were an MMA coach?”

Minho shocked his head.

“No, I didn’t lie. That was the job Chan-hyung employed me for. It’s just that I was given a mission to oversee the Victory Orphanage, making sure no one had been able to infiltrate that place. Most of us were posted back to where we came from.”

He still had another question that he had been dying to ask.

"Then, when you decided to pack up and leave 4 years ago, why did you choose to leave with everything except for my things?"

Minho felt his heart clenched at the question. Even though Jisung had asked that question very calmly, he knew how much pain the younger had been in to ask him this question.

"I knew you'd go to my apartment if you couldn't find me," Minho paused, he sniffled quietly, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, "I was told not to leave anything behind, so the only things I could leave behind are things that are not mine. I didn’t want to take everything away because that would’ve wiped out all of what we went through...I wanted them to remind you of all the time we had even though I couldn't be there physically.”

Minho took a deep breath before continuing.

“I’m sorry, that was a bad explanation. I didn’t know why I did that, either. I left in such a hurry that I was forced to make rash decisions,” A single tear of pain rolled down his cheeks, “Forgive me, Jisung-ah. For hurting you like that.”

Jisung started sobbing, too. He felt as if all his answers were answered and the loose knot in his heart was finally tied since what happened four years ago. He reached his arm across the table and grabbed Minho’s hand, face still stained with tears.

“Come to bed with me?”

Jisung never knew what true serenity meant until this exact moment where he was lying in Minho’s embrace. Minho had led Jisung back to the master bedroom, changed out of his work attire, and climbed in bed before pulling the younger into his arms like it’s natural. Everything just seems and feels so right, like where they were all supposed to belong. Jisung closed his eyes and let somnolence take over him once more.

* * *

Minho had his chauffeur drive both of them back to Seoul Special Hospitals at the break of dawn. Jisung fell asleep on Minho’s shoulder at the back of the car. Both of them had less than three hours of sleep, and Han had to leave his place without breakfast, which Minho felt bad for, but the younger had shrugged it off and told him it was okay.

Jisung was super drowsy and tired when he changed into his work outfits but he was visibly in a happier and a cheerier mood. He knew he had a lot of explanations for his two best friends, who would probably murder Minho on sight if they knew he had to kidnap him, again. He also reminded himself that he needs to tell his two friends about Hong Guk-son and the hospitals.

* * *

Jisung was organizing the patient records in the break room before something caught his eyes. A few patients who were transferred to their hospitals recently were scheduled to have their transplant surgeries, and their surgery dates interjected with their old patients, which causes the delay and rescheduling of their transplant surgeries, which no doubt, would be delayed again due to the recent lack of organs in their transplant centers.

He requested for older patients files that went a few years back, and he went through all the records a few more times before taking the initiative to search the names of the patient’s parents.

His hunches were right and they all turned out to be either billionaires, politicians, governors, and even world-renowned businessmen. Looking around, he made sure no one was around him before snapping a picture of the records.


	13. MEETING THE MAFIA FAMILY

“Are these all still happening?” Seungmin asked with a frown, the anger in his undertone was jarring, and Jisung could understand why.

He had gathered his friends in his dormitory room where they were all away from public eyes. He sat them down and brought up the entire incident of how Minho had looked for him and told him the reasons for him leaving. He even went into great detail about Hong Guk-Son and his criminal acts, including the unfair treatments that he found in the hospital records. There was no reason for him to hide anything as they are all medical professionals, but still, even they feel uncomfortable when taboo topics are brought up like this.

“Yea, it’s still happening”, Jisung nodded solemnly, “What is your take on this, then?”

Seungmin bit his lower lips and thought about it while Jeongin looked physically sick from all the stories.

“Actually, come to think of it,” Seungmin started, staring into his cup of tea, “I noticed some discrepancies in the Pediatric Transplant Center. The donated organs were decreasing at an alarming rate despite the number of patients who were queuing for the transplant. I asked Dr. Lim, but he simply brushed me off and told me that they were sent to other hospitals but they never sat right with me.”

“My patient, Hyo-shin, her schedule for liver transplantation has been pushed back for three times even when there were suited organs for her, something is definitely wrong here,” Jeongin chimed in.

Jisung nodded in agreement.

“I’ll tell Minho about this and we see what we can do to help.”

* * *

Minho did a double-take on Jisung who was poking his food with his fork, one cheek puffed out and deep in thought, the older raised a curious eyebrow.

Jisung had called Minho out for dinner two weeks after he last saw him, he was quite surprised to see Minho agreeing to it despite his busy schedule. He wanted to tell Minho about what he had found out from Seungmin and Jeongin.

“No appetite?” Minho asked softly, putting his utensils down and reaching over to stroke Jisung’s puffed-out cheek. Jisung wrinkled his nose and tilted his head in puzzlement.

“It’s not that,” he replied, “it’s just that there’s something that happened at work and I think I need to tell you about it.”

Minho gently held Jisung’s hand into his own, one thumb stroking the back of Jisung’s hand that was resting in his.

“I’m all ears.”

“Well, it’s just that the organs in our transplant center in our hospitals have been shipped out despite the massive numbers of patients we have,” Jisung sighed, “And the hospital has rescheduled the surgeries for transplantations countless times. All three of us, including Seungmin and Jeongin, we suspect the hospitals of being part of the criminal acts.”

After hearing what he had said, Minho picked his cup of water and sipped it, eyes studying Jisung. After a few seconds, Minho placed his cup down and nudged Han.

“Jisungie,” He called, and Jisung looked up at him, “I need to bring you to Chan-hyung.”

“What?!” Jisung almost screamed, retracting his arms to his chest, “No! Of course not! I’m not meeting your leader!”

Minho sighed. Of course, Han wouldn't want this.

“Baby, listen to me,” Minho cooed, hands reaching out to hold Jisung’s smaller hand in between his bigger ones, “I really need you to relay what you just told me to him. It’s...It’s a really huge issue. Baby, please?”

Han gulped in embarrassment at the pet name Minho had called him, causing him to look away from the older, trying to clear his thoughts to make a logical decision. Jisung wasn't sure if it was the desperation he heard in Minho’s voice, or the nickname actually brought him over, but he had decided to agree to it.

“Fine, fine,” Jisung answered, pouting slightly as he mustered the best angry eyes he could, “but if they pose any danger to me I would just leave.”

Mino burst out laughing at his words, throwing his head back with a hearty laugh.

“Don’t worry baby, I won't let anyone lay a finger on you, leader or not.”

* * *

Jisung never knew he could get any more nervous meeting Chan than to actually get kidnapped by him. His hands have been vibrating out of fear for a while now but he didn't really want Minho to be guilty or worried so he didn't tell him.

Of course, what could possibly have slipped from Minho? He's just observant like that.

He reached his hands over and rested his warm, big hands above Jisung's cold nervous one, another hand still on the steering wheel.

"It'll be okay," he assured him, eyes still on the road, "nobody will dare to hurt you."

Jisung nodded as he swallowed nervously as he fiddled with the rings on Minho's finger.

* * *

Never in 24 years of Jisung's life would he have thought that he would be sitting civilly with a mafia family, let alone having afternoon tea with them.

Minho has driven them to somewhere high-end, the buildings were literally built differently and they were all staring down at Han and calling him broke in multiple languages. It's one of those areas in Seoul you know existed but would never take the initiative to visit it because you just know you can't afford anything there.

Jisung had regretted not wearing his best suit out and now he just wallows in regret as he sat in his knock-off trench-coat and a pair of black pants he found lying somewhere in his wardrobe. It sucks more when he realized Minho was wearing an Armani Oxford dress shirt and the blonde-haired guy with a ponytail had a tie hanging loosely around his dress shirt as an accessory, one look at the quality of his clothes and the gold watch that clasped perfectly around his wrist told Jisung that the price of his entire outfit could cost months or even years of his salary as a poor, broke nurse.

There were a few guards stationed outside the apartment when the two of them arrived at the place. Minho nodded and they parted for the two to access the place. Jisung held his breath as he stepped through the front door. 

The penthouse apartment sat on the highest floor of a high-rise building and Jisung could see the skyscraper from where he was situated. Jisung glanced around out of curiosity and noticed a few statues and ornaments that probably cost more than his net worth and his life combined. 

Despite all the lavishness and extravagance, the apartment is more homely-designed than Jisung would've imagined. "A hideout for us" is what Minho had said, but Han knew that no one would 'hideout' would be as luxurious as this and it really widened his horizon, a humble jobber boy.

The ambiance between the mafia gang is more harmonious and comfortable than he had imagined, Chan had, at least he was who Jisung had guessed, been very welcoming of his arrival. The mafia leader had given him a sincere, not those of sinister ones, smile and beckoned the two of them to join the rest of the four, who were just sitting around the leather sofa that is wrapped around the glass coffee table, a huge plasma TV playing softly in the background that levitated on a transparent glass. 

“So, you’re Jisung, right?” Chan asked with a small knowing smile, “Minho’s boyfriend.”

Jisung squirmed in his seat as he felt the entire gang staring at him, again. He really hated being the center of attention. He still nodded politely, nonetheless. Chan took that as a cue to continue.

“Well, first, I have to apologize for the mistakes we have made by abducting you last month,” He stared at Jisung and waited for the younger man to acknowledge what he said before continuing, “Secondly, I would like to introduce my members to you before we get down to actual business.”

Jisung bobbed his head enthusiastically and both Chan and Minho chuckled at that.

“The blonde sitting beside you, he’s Hyunjin,” Chan introduced, Hyunjin turned to him and flashed him a charming smile and he returned with a polite one.

he pointed to a raven-haired man with a pair of bored eyes who looked like he could murder Jisung any given second, “And this is Changbin.”

Jisung timidly waved to Changbin, who nodded in acknowledgment in return. Then, Chan motioned to the kitten-like male who sat cross-legged on the floor beside the leader.

“And he’s Felix.”

“Hi, Felix,” Jisung bowed slightly to him, who in return, gave Han a cute smile.

Chan took no time to spare before returning to his serious demeanor.

“I have also heard that you have something for us today?”


	14. STRAY KIDS

Jisung swallowed and licked his lips nervously before reaching into his coat’s pocket for his phone. He looked through his photo album until the one he took of the hospital’s record and passed it to Chan.

“Look at the dates of their admission and the dates of their surgery,” Jisung explained, “then swipe to the next photo and look at the dates of those of the older patients.”

He waited until Chan had finished looking at the comparisons before continuing.

“The children of less serious illness and less urgency of transplant were given priorities to the organs despite being admitted later into the hospital, while children who have terminal illnesses have been waiting for their turns since a few years ago. I went to check the parents of those who were given priorities, they were those of those who were in great power and of high statuses.”

The rest of the mafia members nodded solemnly at what he had just said. Minho patted his back soothingly.

“Jisungie, tell them what Seungmin and Jeongin had found.”

Jisung nodded.

“My two best friends, Seungmin, who is currently a doctor, and Jeongin, who is also a nurse like me, in Seoul Special Hospitals, found that organs donated to our hospitals have been shipped and sent out in large quantities despite the number of patients we have,” Jisung stated, “What’s even worse is that many of our patients either died from their illness or have to opt-out of the queue due to the massive medical bills that they were forced to pay because they have to be admitted to the hospital if they want to be part of the queue.”

Chan pursed his lips as he thought of what he should do next. After a few seconds, he gave Jisung back his phone.

“I need you to send me these pictures,” He waited for Jisung to acknowledge his request, “And I also need you and your two friends to do something for me.”

Han felt himself holding his breath as he waited for Chan to speak. So far Chan had been nothing but gentle and welcoming, but that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t capable of kidnapping or killing someone. As much as Han knows, the men sitting around him aren’t just regular people hanging out for fun, they’re people who literally have money and power to do all the bad things Jisung couldn’t imagine.

“It’s honestly nothing huge or bad,” The mafia leader assured as if he could read the nurse’s mind, “I just need the full copy of the records, including all of their names and the referral letters from their doctors. If they are in hardcopy, I need a copy of it, if they are all digitalized, I need all of them to be sent to Felix.”

“Well, it’s not a big thing, which, I could easily get them,” Jisung frowned, “But may I ask why?”

Chan shrugged coolly.

“If we have to deal with the wrongdoings of the politicians and the rich, we have to eradicate them from their roots. Only if you exterminate all the doctors involved in their corruption, then can we get more proof of their misconduct.”

“Okay,” Jisung hummed in agreement, “But what do you need from Seungmin and Jeongin?”

“About that,” Chan raised his eyebrows, “I need to meet them first. So, I also need you to arrange a meeting with them for me.”

Jisung gulped nervously and glanced at Minho. As far as he wants the mission to succeed, there is no way he wanted to rope both of his friends into this huge mess. Even though he's pretty sure Seungmin and Jeongin would agree to it if it’s for their patients. Minho smiled at him as an assurance.

“Okay,” Jisung agreed, “I’ll ask them first and give you a text.”

* * *

There is something weirdly safe and pleasant about sitting around with the Mafia gang members and his two best friends in Minho’s villa. Jisung lowkey wondered if the eight of them were friends in their past lives.

Seungmin and Jeongin agreed without much protest when Jisung had told the two about the gang leader wanting to meet them. Han knew the two had the same sentiments about the entire situation.

Jisung glanced awkwardly around the room before taking the initiative to introduce his two friends to the mafia gang.

“Erm, this is Seungmin and Jeongin,” he motioned to his two friends, before pointing to each of the boys in the room, “and this is Mr. Bang, he’s the leader. And this is Minho, Hyunjin, Changbin, and Felix.”

He hoped he hadn’t sounded too nervous or impolite with the way he introduced them. Chan stood up and bowed his head slightly towards the other two medical personnel before extending his arms towards them.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet us, Seungmin and Jeongin.”

Both of them politely shook his hand, Jeongin slightly more shy and afraid.

“As both of you know, I asked for all three of you here because I have a request that I need help with,” Chan announced. Both Seungmin and Jeongin bobbed their heads obediently.

“Jeongin, you’re a nurse, too, right?” Chan confirmed, and Jeongin nodded nervously. Chan continued.

“It’s not a difficult job, but it’s a laborious one,” The mafia leader affirmed, “I have petitions printed, and I needed them to be signed by the family dependents of the patients. The petition will be for the investigation for violating Article 2 of Act No. 8852. The ones still in the hospitals are easy to get, what is hard is those who already opted out of the queue, and I need theirs as well. There is no way the parents or families of the patients wouldn’t sign it. Do you think you can get that for me?”

Chan didn’t need to explain the jargon for the three of them to know what he meant. Article 2 of Act No. 8852 had stated that “The opportunity to receive a transplant shall be given equally to all people who are in need of a transplant.”

“Yes, Mr. Bang,” Jeongin swallowed, his anxiousness visible, but he agreed nonetheless. 

Chan smiled gently at him before ruffling his hair. The leader then directed his attention to the three.

“Just call me Chan-hyung like the rest,” He smiled, “Now that all of you have a common goal as me, I consider you guys to be part of the Stray Kids family, too.”

Jisung felt Minho slid his huge, calloused hand into his small, elegant ones and squeezed it. Jisung squeezed back as he smiled up at the older one.

“For Seungmin, you will have to work with Felix,” Chan wasted no time before continuing, “To find proof for the plan to succeed, we need proof of financial gain on the doctor’s side for evidence of corruption. All you have to do is to update Felix on who the surgeons in your department are meeting, and update Felix about it. If it’s possible, I need a record in detail, especially the when, where, how, why in the statement. Is that possible for you?”

Seungmin considered it, there are only eight doctors in his department and only three of them are organ transplant surgeons. It’s not a hard job on his side, especially since he knew the secretaries and nurses have massive crushes on him, and doctors have to leave an official record when they leave their post during working hours. It’s easy to get information from them.

“Yes, it’s possible,” Seungmin answered with great conviction.

“Felix, you’ll have to keep an eye on their bank account at all times,” Chan reminded, “it could only work if we have actual proof that the government official spent or deposited a significant amount of cash shortly after he allegedly received the cash bribe.”

“Yes, hyung,” Felix answered.

Chan spent the rest of the day illiterate the assignment he had for each and every one of them. Minho was asked to look and ask for older files of the orphans who were apparently “adopted” by Hong Guk-Son’s underlings, it will be easier on their side to trace back to Hong Guk-Son with their supposed adoptee parents being tied to him. Felix mostly deals with digital devices, breaching defenses, and exploiting weaknesses in all the computer systems or networks of the hospitals, banks, and dark webs. Changbin and Hyunjin were told to dig further and look for evidence of transactions from black market vendors and Chan was supposed to look for more information and documentation of the corruption through the connections that his father had built prior.


	15. EXECUTION

Ever since the meeting with Stray Kids, Jisung had been working unpaid overtime for the entire two weeks. Chan had given everyone a maximum of two months for all of them to finish the assignments he gave them. All he had done was to bury himself in the break room just to sort out the files that went on for years back even before he had joined the company as an intern, which is at least a good ten or eleven years worth of records. At least his job is considered unchallenging since almost all of the records are accessible via digital databases. To make things easier he had Felix to help so all he had to do is to sort out the patients.

"Madam Lee, do you think you can give me access to the patient's databases?" He had asked the older nurse who is put in charge of all the databases of their existing patients. While he had access to the ones who are currently staying in their hospital, records of those who are discharged or left are out of his reach.

Madam Lee had raised her eyebrows at him curiously.

“Why?” She asked defensively. Jisung felt his heartbeats quickened in nervousness.

_ Calm down, Han Jisung _ , he told himself.

“Well, it’s just that I haven’t joined the hospital for long, and I was only given simple tasks that I have already learned in Internship,” Jisung tried, thinning his voice slightly so he could appear more sulky and innocent to Madam Jung, “I was wondering if there are more things I can learn through studying past patients.”

Madam Jung appeared less skeptical than Jisung had imagined and she had granted him access to the physical and digitalized database.

“I’m allowing you ONLY because you’re one of the more hard-working nurses, you understand?” She had emphasized. Jisung gulped as he bobbed his head in understanding.

He knew Jeongin wasn't having an easy time. On top of sneaking around and asking for signatures for the petitions, he had been spending his breaks and non-working days traveling to different areas of Seoul to look for his past patients. It had clearly taken a toll on his mental and physical well-being when he was told by so many parents that their children had either passed away from the maltreatment from the hospital.

"Hyung, I'm getting serious insomnia these days," Jeongin had said as he lied in Jisung's bed one night. The stack of signed petitions tucked neatly in a storage box that doesn't look too out of place in a nurse's room. Jeongin had decided to leave his stack of petitions in Jisung’s room because Jeongin had more night shifts than day shifts, whereas Jisung had more day shifts than night shifts, having it kept with Jisung just seemed more like a safer choice. 

Jisung glanced at his younger friend with concern as he took a break from compiling all the patient's records for a while.

"Why?"

"Every time I collected a signature from a parent of a past patient, I was scolded, screamed at and cried to for our hospital's negligence, maltreatment, and differential treatments," Jeongin was almost in tears when he said that. Jisung could feel his heart breaking. He was putting on a front to be strong, Jisung could tell, for all the past, present and future children who might or had been a victim of corrupt government officials and organ trading crimes.

Jisung doesn't blame him though, all three of them felt partially at fault for whatever happened despite subconsciously, they knew they are not the ones to blame. Han sighed, he knew he didn't sound credible or convincing enough to comfort Jeongin, he just knew he had to organize a group therapy of some sort for all three of them once all of these are over.

For Seungmin, things have been going exceptionally smooth on his side. Mainly because it was an open secret that the head surgeon of their department was heavily corrupted and had been receiving tainted money and making dirty political deals with rich, high-status politicians and businessmen. It only took Seungmin a few sweet talks and light flirting to get the official records of the surgeons leaving their posts from the secretaries and nurses. According to Seungmin, Felix has been making great progress in finding evidence through his bank records.

Minho barely had time to text Jisung let alone bring him out on a date. However, he regularly texted and called to update Jisung about the rest of the gang’s progress. On some occasions, Minho and a few men would stop by the hospital to give Jisung and his two friends some tonic and herbal supplements.

Minho had pulled Jisung into a longing embrace the moment he arrived. 

"I miss you," Jisung had murmured against Minho's nape. The older man is so warm he wishes they could stay like this forever. The surroundings are turning white, the trees are going bare and the weather is turning cold. They reminded Jisung of all the times when he felt so lonely without the presence of his boyfriend.

Minho ruffled his hair affectionately before pulling away.

"I miss you, too. Don't overwork, and stay healthy and safe."

  
  


For Chan, he had been trading deals and exchanging information on the corrupted businessmen, politicians, and congressmen.

Minho had been leading his soldiers and men to hunt down ‘parents’ of those who adopted the orphans. Although the truths have been far more gruesome than what he had told Jisung. Not only have they hunted the men down, but they also had them tied up in a more shabby and deserted warehouse than the one they had initially kept Jisung. Chan wanted to look for underlings who were willing to testify against Hong Guk-Son, and those who didn’t comply or retaliate would be tortured inhumanely. The mafia leader wasn’t going to let them go without getting some proof out of them.

Changbin and Hyunjin, the two right-hand men of Chan, had been arresting and locating the vendors in their own ways. Changbin is a skilled fighter, being a master close-range combat, specifically zero range combat, had been locking those who were caught off surprised by his raid. He even led his gang in annihilating two huge underground gangs who worked with Hong Guk-Son on the trading of organs.

As for Hyunjin, a sniper-trained assassin had been taking out vendors on the run and gang leaders who have enough power to keep themselves safe. Not when sniper Hyunjin is around though. He never missed it.

* * *

Almost one and a half months had passed and Jisung never felt as exhausted as ever. Even during his internship where he had to cover a 48 hours shift for a senior wasn’t as bad as what he was feeling. Only half a month left before the final execution of the plan will be carried out by the Stray Kids gang and Jisung was almost done with his portion. He was pretty sure Jisung had collected more than enough signatures for his petitions but he was merely collecting extra in case of some pieces being invalid or voided.

Not a single did he feel like he wasn’t being jittery or anxious about being found out of executing a mission assigned by an underground mafia leader. He missed the good old days where he was living in ignorance and bliss, just pushing past every single day and looking forward to the days where he didn’t have to work, just like every regular salaryman.

He hated how he lived so cautiously now, especially when he never once felt the need to lock his dorm room but now, he double-locked his doors before leaving for work and even triple checked them before he’s relieved enough to go to work. One of the worst parts is when he started feeling more and more distant with his patients.

He used to be that nurse whom all the children loved, but now, he felt too guilty to even look at them in the eye.

He had a newfound respect for Felix who seemed to be always online and reachable all-around 24 hours because Jisung swore if he had to go through one more piece of record he would’ve died. 

“Hyung, it’s me,” Jisung heard Jeongin’s voice from the outside his room. He glanced at the clock and sighed. It’s late and yet his friend just finished his shift, he felt bad for him because he knew the younger still had to make his trips down to get signatures for his petitions the next morning.

Jisung stood up to open the door for his friend.

“Hey, Innie,” He greeted before letting his friends through. Jeongin walked straight to the storage box that Jisung hid in his closet and took out a new stack of the fresh, unsigned petition that he needed for tomorrow.

A new thought flashed through his mind and he blinked. He didn’t know if it seemed like a good idea or not but he felt like he could die if he had to stay in his room to go through the record for one more day. He licked his lips nervously before nudging the younger nurse.

“Innie,” He called out secretively, “How about, I go to get signatures on your behalf tomorrow?”

“Hyung, I don’t thin-”

“Please, Innie,” Jisung interjected before Jeongin could refuse him, “I’ve been stuck in this damn hospital for almost two whole months without leaving. It’s driving me crazy how I can’t even meet Minho.”

Jeongin studied his friend with a frown.

“Fine, but we’re splitting the job, you’ll take half of the load” Jeongin sighed before compromising, “You better have your phone with you at all times.”

“I will, I will,” Han assured him before grabbing the papers from the younger’s hands.

* * *

Usually, Jisung would prefer to wear his thickest hoodie and snuggle under his blanket till late afternoon and went out to get pizza for lunch with his two best friends or his other colleagues. But not today. because he promised Jeongin he would help out in collecting signatures, too. He dropped Minho a text on what he was doing before slipping it into his back pocket, grabbed the last and final stack of the petition, and shoving it into his backpack before leaving his cozy, warm room.

For the past 20 plus years, he would consider himself likable and friendly because that’s what he was called and what people had told him. But he had never felt as miserable. 

“You scum of a nurse! How could you let this happen to our A-Reum?” One of the mothers screamed as she clutched onto his collars after he had explained his motive of the day, “Do you not know how much pain she was in?”

In some other cases, a few parents had hugged him and sobbed over their deceased children.

So far he has visited five families, and almost all of them have shown him so much anger, sorrow, and resentment he almost broke down crying, too. Jisung wondered how Jeongin had managed to do this for one and a half months straight.

It was almost 9 p.m when Jisung had his last signature. All he wanted to do is just go back to his dormitory, bathe, and maybe do nothing. He stopped in an alleyway that led up to his bus stop to check for messages from Minho.

_ CLANK _

Excruciating pain and the sound of something metal meeting the back of his neck was the last thing Jisung felt and heard before his whole world turned dark and knocked out cold on the same back alley.


	16. THE COMEBACK OF THE POLITICIAN

“Felix, how is your side doing?” Chan asked the younger as he cleaned the blood off the tri-edge knife. Felix sat cross-legged on one of the couches with three laptops propped in front of him on the coffee table and an iPad resting on his thigh.

Felix shrugged.

“Jisung and Seungmin have been extremely efficient, Seungmin has given me more than enough evidence on the corruption of the doctors, and Jisung is more or less done with his part. All we need to do now is to tie up all the loose ends before the final execution.”

Chan nodded with an impressed smile. He never knew boys outside of his gang were this productive in their work. Chan likes efficiency. Jeongin already had enough petitions signed, and now that Minho and Changbin were mostly done on their hunts, and Hyungjin had long finished his mission, as usual. Then, that left with his work.

He needed to bring all this evidence and proof not only to the law but also to the media. He had learned his lesson the first time. Justice only for the rich and powerful; Justice is for those who can afford it. If he had blindly stuck to only the Supreme Court, he knew how easily these stories and facts would have been covered in dust all over again. He needed attention from the public, he needed to create a buzz through the media. And he needed Hyunjin for it.

Hyunjin knew the perks of being a sniper assassin. He basically gets his job done without much contact with people outside of his own organization, and he could still use his own beauty to get what he wants from people outside of his world.

11.30 pm, the clock read before Chan grabbed the phone resting on his office table and dialed Hyunjin’s phone number.

“Hyunjin-ah, I need you to get in contact with the few journalists. Yes, the few ones that seem interested in you.”

Before Chan could give himself a pat on the back for sticking to his own deadlines, the door to his office bust opened to reveal both Minho and Jeongin. An unusual pairing, Chan thought with an eyebrow raised. Felix looked up to both of them with great curiosity.

“Hyung! Chan-hyung!” Jeongin yelled as he ran up to grab the leader’s arm in a pleading manner, “You need to save Jisung-hyung!”

Chan was caught off-guard but still kept his calm and collected demeanor. He turned his head towards Minho who looked like he’s about to murder someone. The veins on his neck were visible and his jaws were clenched.

“Tell me what happened,” Chan ordered. And Jeongin did. He told the gang members how Jisung had offered to get signatures for him, and how he hadn’t returned home since evening and neither did he reply to their text.

Chan pursed his lips as he thought of what he should do next.

“Felix, track Jisung’s phone. If his phone is still on, I need the exact coordinate. If his phone is off, I need his last location,” Chan ordered, “Minho, I need you to call Hyunjin and Changbin. Get them to meet here, right now. Jeongin, I need you to check on where Seungmin is. If he’s still at the hospital, make sure he doesn’t leave the premises, I would send men to keep him safe.”

The three jumped into action immediately. After the call, Minho looked at Chan, both of them shared a knowing gaze before the leader gave him permission through a simple nod.

“So-Geum,” Minho told his underboss, “I want the soldiers to search the whole city to look for Jisung. Don’t you dare miss a single place.”

* * *

It was blurry when Jisung first opened his eyes. The world was swirling so bad it made him dizzier than he had woken up with. He wanted to vomit. 

He felt like his brain had been knocked out of his skull and the deja vu of him being kidnapped for the first time hit him like a train. But he knew this time, it was completely different and worse.

His arms had been zip-tied to the back of a chair, and his legs had been tied to the chair with two other zip ties. He didn’t have any space or freedom to move his limbs and he could wetness at the back of his neck. Presumably his own blood.

It took him a while to regain complete consciousness and the ability to look around carefully. Jisung could feel himself breathing unevenly as the paces of his heartbeat quickened. He looked around frantically. The room was dimmed and completely empty. A few cardboard boxes are strewn around and a chair sat in front of him. Although he had no idea where he was, he had a hunch he was in the basement of some warehouse or depot.

His first instinct was to look for his phone. His two hands struggled with the restraints only to realize his phone had been missing from his back pocket.

“You wouldn’t think we would make such rookie mistakes, would you,” A deep, menacing voice rang from behind him, it made the hair on Jisung’s back stand up.

A man who looked like he could easily be 50 or 60 years old sauntered in casually, Jisung’s iPhone twirled around his fingers and his lips pulled into a sneer that disgusted Han. Even though Jisung wasn’t well knowledgeable about brands, he could easily tell how rich the man was just by how he dressed. Behind him, about seven to eight guards followed him into the small room. He knew who he was. Hong Guk-Son. The politician who led the organ-trafficking. An absolute scumbag.

Han got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach when the man took a seat across him, a repulsive smirk still evident on his face as he studied Jisung. The younger didn’t back down, he scowled back at the politician.

_ SLAP _

One of the guards had slapped Jisung with the back of his hand. Jisung felt like he might have a slight concussion with the force he had hit him with. The younger had tasted blood in his mouth.

“Be respectful! Do you not know who he is!” The guard barked.

“Hong Guk-Son, I know who you are” Jisung replied, his tone was firm, “You’re a criminal who does human- and organ-trafficking. You’re a human garbag-”

_ SLAP _

Then Jisung heard the politician laugh. The kind that it could make your blood run cold but also boils at the same time.

“Do you really think I wouldn’t have known what you guys are planning?”

Another guard then walked out from the back and emptied the contents in his backpack. The signed petitions paper rained down from his bag and Jisung felt his heart dropped together with them.

“A petition! Do you think a petition by you and your friends is enough to stop me!” He bellowed before bursting out another laugh of mockery.

Han winced in pain as the side of his cheeks swelled from all the violence. He couldn’t help but wonder if Minho had realized that he had been missing from the surface of his world.

“I’ll let you off easy tonight,” Hong Guk-Son stood up and stretched his limbs, he beckoned the rest of his guards to follow him, “I’ll let you off easy tonight  **only** because we have more things waiting for you tomorrow. Stay tuned, kid.”

And with that, all of them left the room, letting darkness engulf the poor nurse once again.


	17. A PRODUCT OF REVENGE

Minho had been receiving calls from his underboss since he sent them out to look for Jisung. So far, all of his troops have reported back that they were unable to find the younger man. Minho swallowed the lump in his throat with great difficulty as he felt tears welling up in his eyes.

It was all his fault.

He was supposed to come back and bring Hong Guk-Son down with the gang, and then he was supposed to look for Jisung again, to ask for his forgiveness. But everything had gone wrong. Jisung was roped into his business too early. He wasn’t even supposed to be part of this whole ordeal, he was supposed to live happily, not kidnapped and tied up somewhere; he was supposed to lie in his arms fast asleep, not becoming a product of his revenge.

Minho was so wrong. He thought he had enough power to keep Jisung safe. It was all his fault.

He already lost Jisung once, what is he going to do if he loses him again?

4 A.M, the clock on Felix’s laptop showed before he flipped his screen towards all 6 of them. Seungmin had insisted on joining the gang in searching for his friend. There is no way he could sit still knowing he had lost his friend to the hands of the underground again. Chan had ordered Hyunjin to bring him over himself, and the younger obeyed.

“The last time Jisung’s phone had a signal is somewhere near here,” Felix said as a circle formed somewhere near the border between Seoul and Busan on his laptop screen. Making sure everyone had heard what he said, Felix continued.

“According to the surveillance cameras, we have picked up the van that took Jisung,” Felix said as his laptop screen now showed a black van, “We already have the car plate number and we are waiting for the soldiers to locate the actual location of where they took him.”

“No, that’s too slow,” Minho butt in, his knuckles clenched white with anger, “Jisung might already be hurt if we find him too late.”

The gang fell into silence as everyone tried to come up with a new solution. Suddenly, Seungmin perked up.

“Felix, do you think you can track his Apple Watch?”

* * *

Jisung didn’t sleep a wink. He didn’t even know the sun was up until a slight ray of sunlight slipped through one of the cracks on the wall. The fact that a super-rich, evil politician had planned something definitely unpleasant for him was enough to keep his mind running amok. Suddenly the thought of dying from cardiac arrest because of overworking didn’t seem that bad now.

The door to his room was pushed open again, the light from outside almost blinded Jisung.

Hong Guk-Son and his men walked in again, this time, a few more men who were dressed like medical staff came in too. Jisung felt his mouth dry. This can’t be good.

The politician took his seat again, this time crossing his leg elegantly with a complacent smug.

“Good morning, Mr. Han Jisung,” he greeted, his voice overflowing with venom, “Did you have a great night's sleep?”

Han didn’t reply, he glared at the man in front of him and hoped that he hadn’t come off too intimidated and afraid. The politician seemed impressed by his courage. He chuckled lightly before leaning back on the shabby chair.

“All of you are too young, too tender,” He commented, “Did your boyfriend, Lee Minho really think I wouldn’t find out who his boyfriend is?”

Jisung struggled to breathe. He hated being used as Minho’s weakness. Because he chose to do this. It was his own burden to bear. 

Happy that Minho’s name alone can elicit a certain response from the younger male, Hong Guk-Son smirked. He knew what he had to do.

“Spare me the excessive talking, Jisung-ah, you are about the same age as my grandchildren and I enjoyed your company,” Hong Guk-Son said, faking a nice, gentle smile before continuing, “I just thought, well, if you had to die in my hands, I might as well tell you more about what I do.”

Jisung grimaced.

“You’re a father and a grandfather yourself, how do you have the heart to conduct trafficking of children and organs!” Jisung yelled.

A guard had walked up and raised his arms to slap Jisung, but the politician had raised a hand to stop him. Hong Guk-Son burst out a peal of short laughter.

“Spare me the humanitarian talk, Jisung. Do you know how much money I can earn from that? Do you know how many connections it gave me through making overseas trade?” The older man hollered before jumping up from his seats to grabbed Jisung’s cheeks between his thumb.

“And that is why I said you’re too young and tender!” He spat, then a sinister smile crept up to his face, “And you want me to tell you what more I’m capable of?”

Jisung felt his blood run cold, but he maintained eye contact with the man who stood before him. He refused to bow down to such a villain even if his life was on the line.

“There are more than 10 children in the room beside yours,” Hong Guk-Son smiled menacingly, taking his own sweet time to articulate his words, “And today, I will harvest your organs along with theirs.”

And that was when the last straw of sanity in Jisung broke. He started thrashing in his seats, forcing himself to break free. But all of his efforts were futile, only feeling the zip-ties digging deeper and deeper into his skin. And then, Jisung started screaming.

“Let me go! Let me go, you monster!”

Hong Guk-Son stood before him and stared him down. His eyes void of emotions but the smile on his face spoke otherwise.

"Years ago, we couldn't find a single lead on who Lee Minho's love is. He left so quickly and cleanly we thought the tip-off was a hoax. Now you,  **YOU** are lying over here," he chuckled slightly in an evil and amused way, "I wonder how Lee Minho would feel if we present your pretty organs to him. Maybe in a gift box."

Jisung went berserk, he was screaming so hard he felt dizzy, he felt like vomiting, he felt like the world had once again, crumbled down again. He wondered again, what he had done, to deserve all of these.

In between all the jerking and thrashing, Jisung’s chair was tipped backward by two soldiers. From his teary eyes, he saw Hong Guk-Son beckoning the two medical staff to move forward.

And that was when it all happened.

The guards pressed his shoulders into the cemented floor as one of the medical staff cut his clothing. The pungent of alcohol and disinfectant filled the room before Jisung felt it.

A sharp, excruciating sharp object had pierced through his abdomen and he swore it was so painful he could pass out there and then.

Jisung wailed, and he screamed, and he cried. He could feel himself struggle to survive but to no avail.

Minho’s loving smile flashed before his eyes before tears spilled over and flowed down his face like a river escaping a dam.

_ If I were to die now,  _ Jisung thought to himself in midst of the agony he was going through,  _ I want Minho and Stray Kids to at least succeed in their mission. Hong Guk-Son can go down with me. _

(Line)

“I found them.” Felix stated as he zoomed into his screen. They were all crammed in a huge van and Seungmin and Jisung had insisted on following. Seungmin had managed to convince Chan that they would be the best bet if there were any need for first-aid. Chan had reluctantly agreed but he made them promise him to stay in the van unless needed.

The moment Seungmin brought up about Jisung’s Apple Watch, Felix had been working on hacking and tracking the GPS in the watch. In no time, he had found out that he had been taken into Busan, which was why Minho’s men couldn’t find anyone in Seoul.

Just when the medical staff could pierce the scalpel into Jisung’s skin one more time, the door was bust open with brute force. Everyone in the small room snapped their heads to look at the intruders before Hong Guk-Son’s guards jumped to fend them. Hyunjin wasted no time to shoot bullets through the guards’ heads as the rest of their own men forced their way into the room.

Changbin and Chan were fighting side by side and the politician’s guards stood no chance. Stray Kids had infiltrated the entire building and no one is allowed to leave unharmed.

The first thing Minho had seen when he stepped through the room was Jisung's writhing and twitching in pain. He was lying in his own pool of blood.

Minho felt frozen before anger took over him. He raised his own gun towards Hong Guk-Son who was cowering at one corner of the room.

Before he could open fire, Minho felt someone grabbing onto his arm.

It was Chan.

“Lee Minho, don’t do anything rash,” He spoke through gritted teeth, “Don’t you dare forget about our bigger plan. Your boyfriend needs you right now.”

And with that, Minho snapped out of his own trance of fury before running up to Jisung. The younger male’s breath came in ragged, shallow gasps, he was in so much pain Minho felt himself tearing up. He pressed Jisung close to his body.

“Jisungie, I’m here. I’m so sorry, I’m late,” Minho sobbed as he held Jisung between his arms, another hand reaching over to apply pressure on his bleeding wound.

“Min...ho-hyung”, Jisung managed to croak, “There are kids in the room next to mine. Save...Save them.”

Minho nodded with tears flowing down. He carried Jisung up and yelled out the younger male’s message before getting him towards Seungmin and Jisung.

The last thing before he felt his body run completely cold was feeling like he was in safe Minho’s embrace all over again.


	18. FALL-EVER

_ Beep. Beep. Beep. _

_ Urgh the heart monitor is annoying, _ Jisung thought,  _ why am I haunted by the sound of freaking hospital equipment. _

Then all of his other senses started coming back to him. He felt his taste first, his mouth was super dry; then he smelt the disinfectant of the hospital, which made him winced unconsciously; then he felt pain all over his body, the burning feeling in his abdomen was giving him shocks of pain; and lastly, his sight. He saw the white ceiling and the blinding lights of the hospital.

“Jisungie?”

Han tilted his head towards the voice. And he saw what, or rather, who he was dying to see. Literally.

Jisung felt relief washed over him as he saw the love of his life sitting by his bedside. Minho still looked so damn gorgeous. He stretched his weak hands over to Minho, who grabbed it anxiously.

Before he could struggle to sit himself up, Minho had pushed him gently back to bed again. 

“Just lie there and don’t sit up,” He heard Minho say, “Let your wound recover first. The doctor said the cut was deep but no vital organs have been hurt. Seungmin had brought you some food in case you’re hungry.”

Then, he watched the older man walk over to the other side of his bed to pour him a glass of water, he can’t help but fall into a state of anxiousness again.

“Hong Guk-Son,” even the name burnt his tongue when he tried to say it, “Did you guys convicted him?”

Minho smiled slightly before adjusting the bed frame so Jisung could drink the water. 

“Chan-hyung had handed him to the police alongside with all the evidence all of us took months to gather. Of course, through anonymity tipped off,” Minho said gently as he took a seat on Jisung’s bed, “Meanwhile, Hyunjin had gotten in touch with the media side, too. We won’t let this matter get buried again.”

Jisung sighed in contentment as he sipped the water. It’s all finally over.

“Then when will we know about the trial?” Jisung asked curiously as he laced his fingers with Minho’s.

The older man held his smaller hand in between his large once before bringing it up to his lips.

“Probably in a few days,” He murmured against the back of Jisung’s hand, “The Supreme Court will be under huge stress with so many public eyes on them.”

Han nodded. Minho reached his arms out and ruffled his hair affectionately before stroking his cheeks. He felt the same serenity again before letting himself drift into sleep.

(Line)

A few days had passed and Jisung was able to sit up with the help of Minho and his two best friends. The seven of them visited him regularly and he felt like he had built better rapport with the gang members. Much to Jisung’s surprised, he also grew closer to Minho’s underboss, So-Geum, and a few of his soldiers and guards.

All eight of them were gathered in his ward when the news started playing.

Hong Son-Guk was given a life sentence for being found guilty of all of his crimes, including human and organ trafficking, fraud, corruption, murder, and kidnapping act.

The surgeons across Korea who were involved in his criminal activities were all convicted for their crimes. Hospitals involved were all under investigation. This means, Seungmin, Jisung, and Jeongin would most likely be on a break before they got transferred into and re-employed by another hospital.

It was the best outcome that Jisung could ever think of. First, they got all the black-market vendors annihilated, then they got rid of all the corrupted middle-management, and lastly, the mastermind will be in jail forever.

And as for him, he gets to have the love of his life all to himself, finally. Thinking about that, he happily snuggled closer to Minho, who pulled him closer to his embrace unconsciously and land a peck on the top of his head.

* * *

Almost one year had passed since the incident and the trio was re-employed by Seoul Children's Hospital.

To say it was a “happily ever after” will be a bit of an overstatement. Because the incident had left great Jisung with great traumas.

With what he had promised, he signed all three of them up for a therapy session. And so far, it had been going well for him. Thanks to the frequent sessions, he now does not fear scalpels and the smell of disinfectant.

He remembered how it would bring him so much anxiety and breathing difficulties when he was around them.

* * *

Minho was waiting for Jisung outside the Mental Health Department clinic again, in his hand were two Iced Americano coffee in the tumblers Jisung had customized for them on their first anniversary. His hair was casually styled and he was wearing his leather jacket again, exactly the way Jisung loved it. He does it every single time Jisung has an appointment.

“Hyung!” Jisung exclaimed when he saw Minho waiting beside his car. He jogged towards the older man before leaping up and clasping his arms around him before pecking him on his nose.

Minho smiled affectionately down to the younger man before pulling him closer, lacing their lips together.

Jisung giggled cutely. This never gets old.

“How was today?”

“It’s fine!”

Minho then opened the car door and Jisung climbed into the front seat, still smiling as he reached over to get his daily dose of caffeine.

“Where are we going today?” Jisung sang cheerily.

“You’ll see.”

* * *

Minho had driven them to the meadow in Guri again. It was where they had their first date and their first kiss, Jisung didn’t forget.

Minho held his hand as they walked through the forest and uphill like it was the first time. Just like what they did five years ago, they make lame jokes and laugh at each other as they go. But, what was new is that they now have more common topics and homely conversations between them.

Jisung caught a glimpse of the meadow that is surrounded by bright orange trees. The wind was warm and it was more bright and less misty than the first time he was there. A different kind of beauty, Han reckoned.

“This paradise on earth never gets old”, Jisung mused, and Minho nodded in agreement.

Upon reaching the open area, a huge bouquet of roses lay in the middle of the meadow. Jisung glanced up uncertainly at Minho, who encouraged him to take a closer look.

Jisung strode up to the bouquet and picked it up. It was beautiful and mesmerizing. Jisung spun around eagerly with the flowers in his hand.

“Minho-hyu-”

Before he could even finish his sentence, he saw Minho down on one knee, a pair of engagement rings sat in a ring box, the silver shanks reflecting off the sunlight.

“Han Jisung, I want to be with you forever, will you marry me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayyy We're done!
> 
> Not sure how all of you thought of my story but I'm happy to have it published~  
> Hope all of you enjoyed this story.
> 
> Also, if you like this content, you can check out a Japanese drama called Ouroboros. It's an amazing drama and I cried really hard.
> 
> Anyway, I will be writing a lot more Mafia AUs in the future (because I lack creativity) and maybe a lot more stories of different AUs. Who knows? :)
> 
> Love, Love, Love  
> Devil's Soulmate  
> (｀∀´)Ψ ❤❤❤


End file.
